FRIDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Statins might quickly help reverse erectile dysfunction among men who have metabolic syndrome, new animal research suggests.

A threat to cardiovascular health, metabolic syndrome is also known to raise the risk for erectile dysfunction (ED). The current finding indicates that statins may reduce levels of a specific protein that contributes to ED.

MONDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- People who drink too much have increased odds of developing metabolic syndrome, a series of risk factors and conditions that are strongly related to cardiovascular disease, a new study says.

The study, expected to be published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, defines excess drinking as more than two drinks per day for men or one drink a day for women. Binge drinkers are also considered to be at an increased risk.

Conditions of metabolic syndrome include obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

WEDNESDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes, but not cardiovascular disease, in the elderly, a new British study finds.

People with metabolic syndrome have at least three of the following five health problems: elevated blood sugar levels; high blood pressure; high waist circumference; decreased levels of "good" HDL cholesterol; and elevated levels of triglycerides (fats) in the blood.

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered that people with high oxidation levels of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle that carries cholesterol throughout the blood are much more likely to develop metabolic syndrome -- which can lead to a considerably increased risk of developing heart disease.

FRIDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Overeating, not the obesity it causes, is the actual cause of metabolic syndrome, suggests a study with mice by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The professor of the Clinical Dermatology Department at UCSF, School of Medicine, Dr. Berger sheds light on women's diet & acne.

For the younger women among us, who may not be concerned about heart disease in our near future, but know we should generally eat right and exercise, I wanted to mention a condition that may occur before a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, which is Metabolic Syndrome. (oh---and just because you are “young” does not mean you do not have risk factors for heart disease! Just read egreene’s personal story with heart disease on her blog entries on the EmpowHer site).