New Drug Class Slashes 'Bad' Cholesterol, Review Finds
New Drug Class Slashes 'Bad' Cholesterol, Review Finds
If approved, medications could be used by people who don't respond to statins
MONDAY, April 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A new class of cholesterol drug could sharply cut "bad" LDL cholesterol in people who don't fare well on commonly used cholesterol-lowering medications called statins, a new research review confirms.
The drugs, known as PCSK9 inhibitors, are not on the market yet. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to decide later this year on the first two medications in the class: evolocumab (Repatha) and alirocumab (Praluent).
The review of 24 clinical trials found that PCSK9 inhibitors lowered people's LDL cholesterol by about 47 percent, on average.
More important, the drugs seemed to cut the risk of heart attack or death from heart disease, according to the researchers.
Experts did urge some caution, however: Trials so far have been short-term, and it's not clear whether the new cholesterol drugs really do extend people's lives, according to Dr. Seth Martin, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
"Still, the early data are exciting, and we're cautiously optimistic," said Martin, who co-wrote an editorial published with the study.
The study was published online April 28 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Statin drugs have long been the go-to treatment for lowering LDL cholesterol, according to background information in the study. Studies have proven they can help prevent heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular complications.
But for some people, statins cause intolerable muscle pain. "Those people would be obvious candidates for PCSK9 inhibitors," Martin said.
For others, statins just don't do the job -- including people with an inherited condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, which causes very high LDL levels and heart attacks at an early age. That's another group that could benefit from the new drugs, Martin said.
"Familial hypercholesterolemia is not rare," he noted. "It affects about one in 300 to 500 people."
Of the trials in the current review, half involved people with familial hypercholesterolemia. Some of the others focused on people who'd dropped statins because of side effects.
PCSK9 inhibitors work by blocking a protein in the liver that helps regulate LDL, according to the study. The new drugs don't appear to cause the muscle woes that statins can.
New Drug Class Slashes 'Bad' Cholesterol: Review
If approved, medications could be used by people who don't respond to statins
MONDAY, April 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A new class of cholesterol drug could sharply cut "bad" LDL cholesterol in people who don't fare well on commonly used cholesterol-lowering medications called statins, a new research review confirms.
The drugs, known as PCSK9 inhibitors, are not on the market yet. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to decide later this year on the first two medications in the class: evolocumab (Repatha) and alirocumab (Praluent).
The review of 24 clinical trials found that PCSK9 inhibitors lowered people's LDL cholesterol by about 47 percent, on average.
More important, the drugs seemed to cut the risk of heart attack or death from heart disease, according to the researchers.
Experts did urge some caution, however: Trials so far have been short-term, and it's not clear whether the new cholesterol drugs really do extend people's lives, according to Dr. Seth Martin, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
"Still, the early data are exciting, and we're cautiously optimistic," said Martin, who co-wrote an editorial published with the study.
The study was published online April 28 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Statin drugs have long been the go-to treatment for lowering LDL cholesterol, according to background information in the study. Studies have proven they can help prevent heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular complications.
But for some people, statins cause intolerable muscle pain. "Those people would be obvious candidates for PCSK9 inhibitors," Martin said.
For others, statins just don't do the job -- including people with an inherited condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, which causes very high LDL levels and heart attacks at an early age. That's another group that could benefit from the new drugs, Martin said.
"Familial hypercholesterolemia is not rare," he noted. "It affects about one in 300 to 500 people."
Of the trials in the current review, half involved people with familial hypercholesterolemia. Some of the others focused on people who'd dropped statins because of side effects.
PCSK9 inhibitors work by blocking a protein in the liver that helps regulate LDL, according to the study. The new drugs don't appear to cause the muscle woes that statins can.