Game-changing that may reduce 'Bad' cholesterol by 60%

Can an injection actually reduce cholesterol by 60 percent? Well, as per groundbreaking new gene therapy, it is believed that it can completely change the way heart health has been treated for years. This new treatment claims to reduce "bad" cholesterol with just a single treatment. Experts say this pioneering, one-off injection could prove to be "transformative" for patients, offering a powerful new way to prevent future heart attacks and strokes. Published by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, the research reveals that this single-infusion drug managed to reduce cholesterol—the fatty plaque that dangerously clogs our arteries—by an impressive 60 percent over an 18-month period.


The Struggle with daily pills
Right now, over seven million people across the UK rely on daily medications like statins to keep their cholesterol numbers in check. However, staying on top of a daily routine isn't easy; studies show that up to half of all patients stop taking their cholesterol medication within the very first year, usually because they find it tough to remember a daily pill or because they experience unpleasant side effects. Making matters worse, many people have no idea they are even walking around with high cholesterol. The condition quietly builds up due to poor diet, a lack of exercise, smoking, and drinking. In fact, it is estimated that six out of ten British adults currently have dangerously raised cholesterol levels, which play a massive role in the 170,000 cardiovascular deaths seen in the UK every single year.


Inside the Breakthrough US Trial
To test the new gene therapy—called VERVE-102—a US-based trial gathered 35 adults who either had a severe, inherited form of high cholesterol or had tragically suffered a heart attack at a very young age. The treatment works by going straight to the source, disabling a specific gene in the liver that is vital for producing bad cholesterol.The drug was delivered to the patients through a single intravenous transfusion. At the highest dose tested, the therapy knocked down LDL ("bad") cholesterol by up to 62 percent. Even better, when researchers checked back in with the patients 18 months later, those lower cholesterol levels were completely sustained. These exciting Phase 1 results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Atherosclerosis Society Congress in Athens.



What the experts and patients say
Professor Riyaz Patel, a consultant cardiologist at Barts Health NHS Trust, a professor of cardiology at University College London, and the trial's local lead, shared his excitement about the milestone: "It is still early days but this is an extremely exciting milestone. These findings show the technology works, is safe and helps lower cholesterol to levels similar to medicines we currently have. The therapy has the potential to provide a 'one and done' approach to a very common condition, which would be transformative in preventing heart attacks and strokes over the long term." For 41-year-old trial participant Daniel Cullinane, the results feel incredibly personal. Daniel inherited genetically high cholesterol, a condition he discovered only after his father passed away at an early age. Traditional statins simply weren't doing enough to bring his numbers down."I was referred to the team at Barts which led me to being put on the trial," Daniel shared. "My cholesterol levels have now dropped, I have lost weight and I feel a lot healthier." Warning on women’s heart health. While this medical breakthrough offers immense hope, it arrives alongside a sobering landmark report revealing a major gender gap in healthcare: women are much more likely to face severe delays when it comes to diagnosing heart disease, and as a direct result, they are more likely to die from it.


An international team of scientists led by the European Society of Cardiology is now calling for dedicated women's heart centers to be built across Europe to fix this dangerous inequality."Heart disease kills more women than any other condition—three in ten women globally - yet it remains critically underdiagnosed and undertreated," warned Dr. Julia Grapsa, the lead author of the report. Proving that targeted care can make a massive difference, a separate study followed over 1,300 high-risk women in the US. They found that a six-month program—which combined personalized heart health advice with the American Heart Association’s clinical guidelines on blood pressure, diet, and exercise—successfully lowered the women's risk of suffering a major, life-threatening heart event.