The scientists from the University of Edinburgh (UK) are working on a new generation of drugs: they can reduce the level of the so-called “bad” cholesterol in the blood without producing any unpleasant and dangerous side effects on the body.
At the moment, most of the medicines to control cholesterol, in which statin is the main active ingredient, suggest a whole bunch of side effects – from muscle pain and bowel problems to narrowing of the arteries and diabetes.
The leader of the study, Professor Peter Ghazal, explained that the new drug is based on a special hormone. This hormone induces the immune system to fight with elevated cholesterol levels independently (it does this, for example, when fighting viral infections). The discovery will allow to lower cholesterol much softer and safer than while using the old method, based on statin (according to the experts, it was “effective, but crude”). It is assumed that the new medication will be available in about five years.
