Thomas B Edel MD

The liver primarily produces cholesterol. Each day, it makes 1,000 mg of cholesterol. The cells lining the small intestine can also produce cholesterol. If the level of cholesterol in the body is low, it may mean that the body is producing low amounts of cholesterol and is going to shut down. In...

Blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg is considered hypertension, and is one of the most prevalent and preventable conditions. High blood pressure is one of the causes of about 15% of deaths in the country, and also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Not to mention the risks of aneurysms,...

Results of a study presented in the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego showed that coping with mental stress is harder on a  woman's heart, when compared to that of men. Researcher Chester Ray, PhD, professor of medicine, and cellular and molecular physiology at Penn State's College of...

DiabetesInsulin is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas. Diabetes can develop when the pancreas stops secreting insulin or when the body becomes resistant to insulin. The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes.According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 25 million people...

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published research linking height and coronary artery disease through the study of genetics. Doctors have known since the 1950s about the link between short stature and coronary artery disease, “but the reason behind this really hasn’t been completely...

IntroductionNicotine is an alkaloid stimulant that comes from the nightshade family of plants, particularly from the leaves of tobacco. The type of nicotine found in tobacco plants is called Nicotiana tabacum. Nicotine can also be synthetically produced. Thousands of chemicals are contained in...