New Class of Heart Disease Drugs

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Patients and doctors across the country are getting excited about a class of drugs that promise to drop patients' cholesterol levels to unprecedented lows. What's more, the pharmaceutical company that developed the first of these drugs, alirocumab, just received support for its approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee.

Findings from studies of drugs in this class showed that some patients' LDL cholesterol levels dropped as low as those found in infants. The drugs are called PCSK9 inhibitors. They work by helping the body produce more LDL cholesterol receptors on liver cells that pull cholesterol out of the blood like a sponge and keep blood vessels clear of potential clogs.

Researchers said they were inspired to develop the drugs by the fact that some people are born with a genetic mutation that makes them naturally deficient in the PCSK9 enzyme. People deficient in this enzyme have naturally low LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease risk throughout their lives (with no adverse health effects reported).

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http://www.realhealthmag.com/articles/heart_pcsk9_inhibitors_382_27372.shtml