Initial Trials for new cholesterol drug

I found the following article on the 'Mature Times' website. It was published on Wednesday 2nd October 2013.

 'A new approach to cholesterol-lowering that targets a regulator of harmful LDL cholestrerol could offer new treatment for patients with high  cholesterol, researcher have concluded.'

'The drug, called ALN-PCS, blocks production of the cholesterol regulator PCSK9, a protein that destroys receptors that normally clear harmful cholesterol from the blood.'

'In a trial involving 32 healthy volunteers with mildly to moderately raised LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, people were randomly assigned to receive either an injection of ALN-PCS or saline as a placebo.

A single dose of ALN-PCS was shown to cut levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol by up to 57 per cent.'

'Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “People with extremely high cholesterol are at increased risk of a heart attack and this approach could offer new hope for those who are resistant to statins.'

 '“These initial results add to growing evidence that blocking the action of a certain protein can dramatically lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. More research is now needed to confirm this approach is both safe and effective at preventing heart attacks in the long term before it becomes widely available.” '

The study was  originally published in The Lancet.

I personally dislike being referred to as 'mature.' Makes me sound like an over-ripe cheese.