Association Between Low Birth Weight, Excessive Weight Gain And Heart Problems In Later Life: Study Suggests Inflammation May Be The Cause

Inflammation is the culprit du jour.

"Researchers who have followed 5,840 people from before birth to the age of 31 have found evidence suggesting that small size at birth and excessive weight gain during adolescence and young adulthood may lead to low grade inflammation, which, in turn, is associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease...

The researchers used a protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) as a marker for general inflammation. CRP is secreted from the liver, is present in blood, and slightly elevated levels can indicate a chronic inflammatory state (low grade inflammation, as opposed to acute inflammation)."

Recall that the Enhance study showed Vytorin lowered CRP:

"The Enhance trial did show that Vytorin did a much better job of lowering total cholesterol, lowering LDL cholesterol, and lowering CRP levels, a marker of inflammation associated with developing heart disease. From these results, one would guess that combination Vytorin would work better than Zocor alone.

The study proved them resoundingly wrong."

So do not fall for the inflammation CRaP until there is better proof of concept.