July 20, 2005
Topic: Managing Cholesterol Levels
Dr. James N. Sullivan, Internist/Endocrinologist
with Nashville Medical Group
Just happened to be channel surfing by when WTVF's Amy Marsalis asked Dr. Sullivan if the area of the body where a person carries their weight is any indication of whether or not they will have high cholesterol or not. Dr. Sullivan responded that there is a little understood set of symptoms that are referred to as Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X.
Central obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
High triglycerides
Low HDL cholesterol
Raised blood pressure (130/85 mmHg or higher)
Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar)
and in women Polycystic Ovary Disease.
He said people with these symptoms are more likely to die of stroke or heart disease, but Syndrome X is just beginning to be studied, so very little is known about why these symptoms cluster together. He talked about how this has become an epidemic in America and said just look at how many people around you cannot look down and see their feet.
I tried to find a transcript on the internet, but no luck. There is something that appears to be written by Dr. Sullivan at
http://www.newschannel5.com/content/medical_mondays/13080.asp , but it doesn't mention Syndrome X or PCOD (aka PCOS).
I'm paraphrasing this from memory, so it isn't exact, but I think its pretty close to what he said.
Medical Mondays - Channel 5 - Nashville 
