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Elevated cholesterol levels are among the most common causes of heart attacks and strokes. A new drug has been used for the first time at Vienna General Hospital. With just two injections a year, “bad cholesterol” is cut in half.
The effect is thus comparable to that of a daily medication intake, it said on Friday in a MedUni Vienna release. Together with standard therapy, the new active ingredient can reduce LDL cholesterol by more than 80 percent. The innovative active ingredient of Inclisiran now gives a promising perspective, said Walter Speidl of the Clinical Department of Cardiology at Vienna General Hospital.
The liver processes more cholesterol
The active ingredient uses the RNA interference mechanism, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2006. Through this, the formation of the protein PCSK9, which is involved in lipid metabolism and increases “bad” LDL cholesterol in the blood, is already inhibited in the liver cell.
“The new active ingredient enables the liver cell to absorb and process significantly more LDL cholesterol, resulting in less LDL cholesterol entering the bloodstream and preventing further dangerous deposition in the vascular wall,” Klaus Distelmaier and Konstantin Krychtiuk from Vienna General Hospital explained the novel therapy. Studies have shown that the active substance is very well tolerated. Since only two injections are required annually, a high level of patient acceptance and adherence to the therapy can be expected.
“We think this new type of drug has the potential to become one of the most prescribed drugs worldwide,” commented Christian Hengstenberg, head of the Clinical Department of Cardiology at Vienna General Hospital.
- source: red, science.ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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