Atlanta: Can heart disease actually be reversed?
In a new experiment, a group of people got their 'bad cholesterol' reduced to the lowest levels ever seen and saw blockages in their blood vessels open after taking a high dose of cholesterol drug, the researchers reported.
Doctors say it is the best evidence yet that heart disease actually can be reversed, not just kept from getting worse.
Two-thirds of the 349 study participants had regression of heart artery buildups when they took the maximum dose of Crestor, the strongest of the cholesterol-lowering statin drugs on the market.
In fact any of a class of lipid-lowering drugs can reduce serum cholesterol levels by inhibiting a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol)
Critics, however, contend that Crestor has more side effects than its competitors. The study was funded by Astra Zeneca PLC, the maker of Crestor, a drug that a consumer group has been lobbying to have pulled from the market.
Some reports have linked Crestor to higher rates of serious muscle problems and kidney damage, especially among Asians. The study results were released on Monday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, which will publish it in its April 5 edition.
It would be quite early to tell whether the shrinkage of artery blockages found in the study will result in fewer heart attacks, but doctors were excited by the possibility.
"The Holy Grail has always been to try to reverse the disease, and this shows a way to do that," Dr Steven Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, Nissen said.
Dr Nissen had led the research and he reported the results at the American College of Cardiology meeting.
Comments
0 comment