The first clinical trial of a new kind of drug to cut the risk of cardiovascular disease has been found safe and effective at dropping levels of “bad” low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by as much as 40 percent. High LDL levels increase the risk for heart attack and stroke.The drug mimics the action of thyroid hormone and safely accelerates the hormone’s natural ability to rid the body of LDL. It is unrelated in structure or action to statins, the widely used class of drugs to lower cholesterol, and may offer an alternative for patients who cannot tolerate statins, according to the research team. It might also complement the use of statins to further decrease cholesterol levels, the researchers report in “The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” (PNAS).
