PHILADELPHIA, Penn. -- Wistar scientist, David Kritchevsky, Ph.D., will speak tomorrow at the 1998 Annual Summer Toxicology Forum in Aspen, Colorado on the antiatherogenic effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
Dr. Kritchevsky's research has shown that CLA, a fatty acid found predominantly in whole milk, cheese and, to a lesser extent in beef, reduces atherosclerosis. An early indication of heart disease, atherosclerosis is characterized by yellow plaque deposits that accumulate in the arteries.
Early studies using hamsters with a diet containing cholesterol showed that CLA slightly reduced fatty deposits in the arteries. More recent research conducted at Wistar by Dr. Kritchevsky on cholesterol-fed rabbits is more impressive. Not only did CLA reduce the amount of atherosclerosis, it also eliminated some of the fat already there, thus potentially reducing pre-formed atherosclerotic plaques.
The Wistar Institute, established in 1892, was the first independent medical research facility in the country. For more than 100 years, Wistar scientists have been making history and improving world health through their development of vaccines for diseases that include rabies, German measles, infantile gastroenteritis (rotavirus), and cytomegalovirus; discovery of molecules like interleukin-12, which are helping the immune system fight bacteria, parasites, viruses and cancer; and location of genes that contribute to the development of diseases like breast, lung and prostate cancer. Wistar is a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center.