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NEW YORK CITY, Nov. 5 -- The New York Academy of Medicine has awarded the 16th Annual Glorney-Raisbeck Award in Cardiology to Nobel Laureates Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., and Michael S. Brown, M.D., for their pioneering discovery of cholesterol-regulating receptors in the blood. Their discovery led to the development of statin drugs, today used by 20 million people worldwide to lower blood cholesterol and prevent heart attacks.
“They revolutionized our knowledge about the treatment of disease caused by abnormally elevated levels of cholesterol,” said Andrew Marks, M.D., chairman of the 2004 Award Selection Committee, while introducing the winners at the Oct. 28 Award Ceremony and Lecture at the Academy. The Award had never before been given to a pair of researchers, noted Academy President Jeremiah A. Barondess, M.D. “They really represent one of the most remarkable pairings in biomedicine,” Barondess said.
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| Left to right: Award recipient Joseph L. Goldstein M.D.; Award selection committee chairman Andrew R. Marks, M.D.; Academy President Jeremiah A. Barondess, M.D. and award recipient Michael S. Brown, M.D. |
Dr. Goldstein in his lecture talked about the alarming prevalence of obese and overweight adults in America, and explained that being overweight can lead to diabetes and to “Syndrome X,” the most common cause of heart attacks in people under age 70. This syndrome results from a combination of environmental components (such high-calorie diets) as well as genetic factors, Goldstein told the 140-person crowd in attendance at the lecture. People with Syndrome X – like the late comedian Chris Farley -- have metabolic abnormalities that lead to obesity, insulin resistance, lipid accumulation in tissues, and abnormal lipoprotein levels in the blood. Goldstein explained that a molecule known as SREBP (“sterol-regulatory element-binding protein”) is the key to this dysfunction. A family of SREBP transcription factors regulates glucose and fatty acid levels, and controls the formation of cholesterol and triglycerides. “It’s rather remarkable” that one family of transcription factors have such influence, said Goldstein, who is Professor and Chairman of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics.
Goldstein and Brown have recently discovered that insulin in the body raises levels of SREBP-1c, a form of SREBP. This causes increased fatty acid synthesis in the liver, for the following reasons. Chronically high insulin levels cause the liver to stop responding to insulin, Brown explained in his portion of the lecture. The result is that the liver continues producing glucose uncontrollably and converting it to fat. Brown, a Professor and Director at the Jonsson Center, explained that the hormone leptin holds promise for treating this condition because it is known to reduce appetite. However, leptin doesn’t work in obese people, and that’s why it has not yet become a marketed drug. “The tragedy of it all is that obese people don’t respond to leptin,” Brown said. “The real challenge to science now is to find out why.” Obesity could be greatly reduced in America if leptin could be used as a treatment.
The Academy’s Glorney-Raisbeck Lecture and Award in Cardiology is endowed by the Corlette Glorney Foundation and has been presented annually since 1988 to a clinician or basic scientist for outstanding contributions to the field of cardiovascular disease. The Academy is a non-profit institution founded in 1847 that is dedicated to enhancing the health of the public through research, education and advocacy, with a particular focus on disadvantaged urban populations. Visit us online.
Posted on 11/05/2004
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