Statin drug shown to help clear arteries
The cholesterol treatment Crestor has been shown to partially reverse the build-up of plaque in coronary arteries, the first time that a statin drug has proved effective in treating the condition, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke, researchers said on Monday.
AstraZeneca PLC’s Crestor, in a two-year study of 507 patients, showed that intensive treatment reduced plaque volume by 7 percent to 9 percent. The drug also reduced levels of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol by more than 53 percent and raised levels of HDL, or “good,” cholesterol by nearly 15 percent.
The changes in cholesterol levels were the largest ever seen a major trial of statin drugs, researchers said, who presented the results at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.
“The results were shockingly positive,” said Dr. Steve Nissen, interim director of the department of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and the study’s lead author.
He did note that the trial did not answer the question of whether the plaque reduction results in fewer heart attacks and strokes.
But he said the study does indicate that very low LDL levels accompanied by raised HDL, can regress, or partially reverse, the plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.
Source: MSNBC.
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