New drug 'cuts cholesterol'

A new cholesterol drug may be able to treat the disease for the one in five people who are unable to use statin - the traditional medication for reducing the risk of heart disease

Lead investigator Dr Kevin Fitzgerald, from the US company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug explained:

According to a study by The Lancet medical journal a new drug designed to lower "bad" cholesterol using advanced gene-silencing involved:

• The drug employs a concept known as RNA interference (RNAi). Small pieces of the genetic molecule RNA are used to shut off a particular gene by interfering with its coded instructions.

• In this case, the gene in question produces a protein called PCSK9 that reduces the body's ability to clear away harmful cholesterol naturally.
• Researchers conducting a pilot trial recruited 32 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 65 who all had mildly to moderately raised levels of LDL.

• They were randomly assigned either to receive injections of the new drug, or a non-active placebo in the form of a salt water solution.

A new drug could have a radical effect on lowering "bad" cholesterol using advanced gene-silencing, scientists have said.

Research published in The Lancet medical journal showed one dose of the experimental drug cut levels of the "bad" form of cholesterol in healthy volunteers by up to 57%.

Scientists believe the drug, known as ALN-PCS, could provide an alternative treatment for patients with high cholesterol who do not respond well to conventional statins.

More than 5 million people in the UK currently take statins to reduce their risk of heart disease. However, one in five people are resistant to them.

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