New drug found to decrease bad cholesterol drastically

A new drug, called AMG 145 (a monoclonal antibody), can decrease low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) or "bad cholesterol" levels enormously.

Many patients with high cholesterol currently take statins to battle the condition, which is the most commonly used medication so far.

However statins can be ineffective in reducing bad cholesterol in some patients because of their body's part or complete unresponsiveness to the medication.

Researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital have recently established that patients already taking statin and who also added AMG 145 to their treatment had decreased LDL cholesterol levels by up to 66 per cent after 12 weeks.

Exactly 631 patients aged between 18 to 80 participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study. The participants had high cholesterol and were on a stable statin dose, with or without ezetimibe.

One of six varying AMG 145 doses or matching placebos was given randomly to patients.

An injection under the skin was given every two to four weeks for a total of 12 weeks.

The results showed that in patients who received the AMG 145 dose, their LDL cholesterol decreased by 42 to 66 per cent at the end of the study when compared to the placebo.

Patients receiving the dose every four weeks experienced a reduction of 42 to 50 per cent of their LDL levels. Researchers also saw LDL levels decrease by 85 percent in patients just after one week following a dose.

Presented at the 2012 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, the study was also electronically published in the journal Lancet.

"These data are very exciting and may offer a new paradigm for LDL cholesterol reduction. The next step will be a large-scale, long-term cardiovascular outcomes trial," said Marc Sabatine, chairman of the TIMI Study Group and senior study author.

Study authors have confirmed that there were no serious side-effects that occurred with the new treatment.

Posted by Fiona Griffith