OT: But maybe not.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After five weekly infusions of the experimental drug taken from the unique good cholesterol, researchers saw, on average, a 4 percent reduction in the amount of plaque on artery walls. (ABCNEWS.com) Reversing Heart Disease
Strain of Good Cholesterol Reduces Plaque in Coronary Arteries
By John McKenzie
Nov. 4
— Researchers have discovered a treatment that, for the first time, appears to significantly reverse heart disease, the leading cause of death among Americans.
The pilot study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says that doctors were able to remove plaque from artery walls by using a most unusual approach.
Until now, the common way to treat heart disease has been the use of statin drugs to lower the body's harmful cholesterol, LDL. In this study, researchers focused on HDL, the "good" cholesterol that helps clear plaque from artery walls.
The discovery actually began more than 20 years ago in the little town of Limone Sul Garde, in northern Italy. Doctors found that about 40 people in the town had exceptionally low levels of HDL. Whereas a healthy level of HDL is considered 40 and above, these people had an average HDL level of 17.
Normally, you would expect people with so little good cholesterol to have severe heart disease and be dying of heart attacks in their 30s and 40s. But these people were living surprisingly full lives. Doctors discovered that what was in their blood was a unique form of good cholesterol called ApoA-1 Milano that appeared to be unusually potent.
‘Unprecedented’
Researchers in the United States turned this particular strain of good cholesterol into an experimental drug and gave it to 36 Americans with severe heart disease, people whose arteries were clogged with plaque. Eleven others received a placebo.
"This is the first time we've ever given good cholesterol as a therapeutic agent," said Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and lead author of the study.
Those given the placebo saw little change in their condition. But for those given the experimental drug, the result was dramatic.
"It was unprecedented," said Dr. Daniel Rader of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who reviewed the study. "This study shows that plaque regression occurred much faster and to a greater extent than we've ever seen before."
After just five weekly infusions, researchers saw, on average, a 4 percent reduction in the amount of plaque on artery walls.
"Regression of 4 percent, while that might not seem like much, actually represents several years worth of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries," Rader told ABCNEWS.
It made a big difference to 51-year-old John Pierce, of Waterville, Ohio, whose arteries were severely clogged.
"I feel like my old self again," said Pierce. "There's no pain in the chest, there's no tightness in the chest, there's no shortness of breath."
Researchers report there were no side effects from the treatment. The next step, they say, is to do larger and longer studies to see whether giving more of the drug reduces even more of the plaque. They also need to demonstrate that the treatment actually results in fewer heart attacks and deaths.
Scientists say it could take another three to five years — but if all goes well, millions of Americans may have the kind of heart protection now enjoyed by a few dozen Italians.
Copyright © 2002 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Click here for Press Information, Terms of Use & Privacy Policy & Internet Safety Information applicable to the site.
AI
