The study shows that the new drug may reduce the risk of heart attack

Researchers have discovered an experimental drug that significantly reduces a cholesterol -like particle that can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Many Americans are not aware that raised levels of this particle – known as lipoprotein (A) or LP (A) – are circulating in their blood.

LP raised (A) cannot be modified with lifestyle changes, and is called “one of the last unjustified limits of cardiovascular risk” from the Cleveland Clinic, who led the study.

This new research confirmed previous findings showing that the experimental drug – lepodisian, made by Eli Lilly, who funded the study – can “silence” the main gene responsible for the synthesis of LP (A).

(Other experimental gene therapies with a similar mechanism of action are also developing, according to the Cleveland Clinic.)

The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and were also presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology on March 30.

What to know about LP (a)

Lipoprotein levels (A) are raised in approximately 20-25% of people around the world, according to the American Heart Association.

This equates to about 64 million people in the US and 1.4 billion people globally.

LP (a) shares similarities with another lipoprotein that doctors aim to reduce the risk of heart disease, known as low-density lipoproteins (LDL)-referred to as “bad cholesterol”.

But lipoprotein (A) is more prone to the creation of plaques and clots in the arteries than the LDL, according to the leading author Steven Nissen, MD, the lead academic, vascular and Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

“Lipoprotein (A) is an independent risk factor for heart disease that is mainly determined by genetics – that is, it is inherited,” added Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, Director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the ICAHN medical school at Mount Sinai in New York, said Fox News Digital. (He was not part of the study.)

LP (a) is mainly determined by changes in one gene, while LDL cholesterol levels are affected by multiple genes.

“This is a huge change, and the LDL has a much larger environmental ingredient,” noted Nissen.

“LP (a) is an independent risk factor for heart disease that is mainly determined by genetics.”

Diet, exercise and weight loss can help lower LDL levels, but they have no impact on LP (A) levels, experts say.

And unlike LDL, which can be reduced to medicines like statins, there are currently no approved drug treatments that lower LP (a).

“There is no pharmacotherapy approved for lipoprotein (a) by the regulatory authorities in any country in the world,” Nissen confirmed.

Study model

Researchers conducted a clinical test of 320 individuals from Argentina, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and the US from November 11, 2022, until April 17, 2023.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or one or two subcutaneous injections of the lepodisian.

The normal level of LP (A) is less than 75 nanomole per liter and the average level for people in court was about 250 nanomole per liter, Nissen told the Fox News Digital.

“They were very high – more than three times more than the upper limit of Normal,” he added.

After a higher dose injection, participants showed a nearly 100% reduction in lipoprotein levels (A) in six months.

Those who took a second dose in six months held a nearly 100% landing on the one -year sign.

In other words, the therapy removed virtually all lipoprotein (a) from the blood, according to Nissen.

Cardiologists say these findings can ultimately help treat millions of Americans who have elevated levels of LP (A).

“The results are very impressive,” Bhatt said.

Possible restrictions

Researchers noticed that there were no major security concerns, but 12% of participants reported soft reactions to the injection site.

The study had only a few black participants – a population that needs more research, as they are more likely to have elevated concentrations of lipoprotein (A) than white people, according to previous studies.

(To address this concern, researchers are recording much more black patients in their largest clinical test of phase 3.)

Another restriction was that only two doses of the Lepodisiran were administered in court, so the effect of more doses is not known.

The study also did not show that lowering LP (A) levels also reduces the risk of heart attacks and heart attacks, noted external experts.

“A phase 3 test that tests the clinical impact of this medicine is needed to see if the large landing of LP (A) translates to lower heart attack rates,” Bhatt said.

Nissen confirmed that Phase 3’s trial to address this question is already underway.

“Whatever your level when you are 24 is the level when you are 64 years old – it doesn’t change because it’s genetic.”

European Cardiology Society and Lipid National Association in the US Both recommend that all adults control their LP (a) level.

“I have checked LP levels (a) in all patients for many years,” Bhatt said.

But unlike traditional cholesterol, which doctors usually monitor over time, Nissen emphasized that lipoprotein (A) should only be checked once in a lifetime.

“Whatever your level when you are 24 is the level when you are 64 – it doesn’t change because it’s genetic,” he said.

“So you have to get only once, and if you get it early in life, then you know you are in danger, and you can live your life accordingly.”