In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved the labeling of foods containing specified amounts of phytosterol esters or phytostanol esters as cholesterol-lowering; in 2003, an FDA Interim Health Claim Rule extended that label claim to foods or dietary supplements delivering more than 0.8 g/day of phytosterols or phytostanols. Some researchers, however, are concerned about diet supplementation with plant sterol esters and draw attention to lack of long-term safety data. Epidemiology
Rates of high total cholesterol in the United States in 2010 are just over 13%, down from 17% in 2000.Average total cholesterol in the United Kingdom is 5.9 mmol/L, while in rural China and Japan, average total cholesterol is 4 mmol/L. Rates of coronary artery disease are high in Great Britain, but low in rural China and Japan. Research directions
Gene therapy is being studied as a potential treatment. References


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Subacute thyroiditis is a form of thyroiditis that can be a cause of both thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism. It is uncommon and can affect individuals of both sexes, occurring three times as often in women than in men. and people of all ages. The most common form, subacute granulomatous, or de Quervains, thyroiditis manifests as a sudden and painful enlargement of the thyroid gland accompanied with fever, malaise and muscle aches. Indirect evidence has implicated viral infection in the etiology of subacute thyroiditis. This evidence is limited to preceding upper respiratory tract infection, elevated viral antibody levels, and both seasonal and geographical clustering of cases. There may be a genetic predisposition. Nishihara and coworkers studied the clinical features of subacute thyroiditis in 852 mostly 40- to 50-year-old women in Japan. They noted seasonal clusters (summer to early autumn) and most subjects presented with neck pain. Fever and symptoms of thyrotoxicosis were present in two thirds of subjects. Upper respiratory tract infections in the month preceding presentation were reported in only 1 in 5 subjects. Recurrent episodes following resolution of the initial episode were rare, occurring in just 1.6% of cases. Laboratory markers for thyroid inflammation and dysfunction typically peaked within one week of onset of illness. Types
Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis (De Quervain thyroiditis)
Subacute lymphocytic thyroiditis
Postpartum thyroiditis
Palpation thyroiditis

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