11/03/2010
Medicine may offer new way to cut cholesterol
New research, published in the New
England Journal of Medicine1, suggests that a drug
that mimics thyroid hormone could help lower LDL cholesterol levels in
people taking statins.
BHF cardiac nurse Fotini Rozakeas said:
“This interesting study showed for the first
time how the addition of a drug called eprotirome
could help cut ‘harmful’ LDL cholesterol in people with high
cholesterol who are already taking statins.
“Although this study was
limited because it involved a small number of volunteers
over a short period of time, the results are encouraging. By
combining statins with a drug that has a
different way of working in the body, it could
help some patients to reach the desired LDL cholesterol level.
However, more research is necessary to determine how safe
and effective this concept is in the long-term.”
For more information please call the
BHF press office on 020 7554 0164 or 07764 290381 (out of hours) or
email newsdesk@bhf.org.uk.
1 'Use of the
Thyroid Hormone Analogue Eprotirome in Statin-Treated Dyslipidemia,
Ladenson et al', published in The New England Journal of
Medicine
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