What Is Niacin

Earnings Preview: Abbott Laboratories

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: In late May, federal scientists halted a study of Abbott's drug Niaspan drug, a prescription form of niacin, after preliminary results showed the pill failed to prevent heart attacks or strokes. Niacin is a form of vitamin B that boosts good cholesterol, which has been shown to fight artery buildup. Contrary to what researchers had hoped, that benefit didn't translate into fewer heart attacks among patients with a history of heart disease. Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen estimates Niaspan sales will fall 20 percent next year to $900 million.

Also in May, a panel of health advisers said another Abbott drug, Trilipix, should be re-labeled to indicate that it failed to lower heart attacks in a study of diabetics. Trilipix is a fibrate, a drug that lowers blood fats called triglycerides while boosting "good cholesterol."

WHY IT MATTERS: Niaspan and Trilipix account for $2.6 billion, or 7 percent, of the North Chicago, Ill., company's revenue. Morgan Keegan analyst Jan Wald said he expects quarterly revenue to be at least $100 million lower on weaker sales of the company's cholesterol drugs. Overall, he expects earnings per share of $1.10 on revenue of $9.5 billion as the company's best-selling drug Humira continues double-digit growth. Wald expects Humira to grow 11 percent year-over-year to $1.8 billion in the second quarter.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts polled by FactSet expect second-quarter earnings of $1.11 per share on sales of $9.54 billion.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Excluding one-time items, Abbott's second-quarter 2010 earnings totaled $1.58 billion, or $1.01 per share, on sales of $8.83 billion.

What Is A Niacin Flush? | Piphi.Org - Free Article Directory

“Derek is allergic to the product and he’s come out in a red rash all over his face – should I call the doctor?” He’s in the shower now trying to cool down a bit!

This was an urgent call from the wife of a client that was going through what is called a “Niacin Flush”, a slightly uncomfortable, hot prickly sensation, almost like pins and needles, that is usually more prominent around the face area or the back of the hands.

What causes these sensations and why do some people have it more than others? Before I answer those questions, let me say that the Niacin Flush is beneficial for our health and is not something to be feared in any way. In fact many people in Asian countries will book themselves into a health clinic where part of the treatment is to induce this symptom by receiving large doses of Niacin which is Vitamin B3. Niacin causes the capillaries, which are the smallest of our blood vessels, to enlarge in size and thereby allow a rush of blood to flow through.

These tiny vessels are so small that Blood cells can only travel through them in single file. You might compare them to the size of a hair. Part of the Capillaries role is to nourish the cells and carry away toxins and waste. Now, add to this equation the fact that a lot of the toxins in the body are stored in fat cells.

These fat cells hold on to toxins to protect the organs, sometimes for years. Heavy stressful exercise or some other event may cause the fat cells to give up their toxins and when this happens, they can start slowly leaching out into the surrounding tissues. This escape of toxins into tissue is poisoning your system constantly.

With their cargo of toxins, these fat cells are always within a millimetre of some capillary, but if that capillary is clogged (as they very often are), and if the blood cells move through them only one cell at a time, then you can see that there is not much chance for those toxins to be flushed away by the flow of blood.

Imagine then, the benefits of taking a vitamin that would enlarge the capillaries so as to allow more blood to flow through, and that has no unwanted side effects. In fact, niacin does this by causing these miles of tiny capillaries to potentially double in size. This increase in size and the ensuing rush of blood is part of the reason for the reddening of the skin – this is cleansing at its best and most visible!

Now that the capillaries have been given a helping hand, they are better able to do their job of removing waste products from the body and will start to produce “Histamine” as part of the process. Histamine causes that uncomfortable itchy feeling.

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