New drug greatly improves cholesterol levels

A powerful new drug can significantly improve cholesterol levels in patients highly prone to heart attacks, results of a worldwide clinical study showed.

Based on the findings of ASTEROID (A Study to Evaluate the Effect of Rosuvastatin On Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Coronary Atheroma Burden), intensive therapy with the drug rosuvastatin could block the build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries — a condition known as coronary atherosclerosis — which can trigger cardiovascular disease.

Rosuvastatin, marketed under the Crestor brand by London-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is a prescription drug used in the treatment of high cholesterol. It belongs to a group of medicines — called statins — that inhibit production of cholesterol by the liver.

Based on the ASTEROID results, a high dose of rosuvastatin significantly altered the amount of total cholesterol in the bloodstream by lowering LDL cholesterol, the so-called "bad" cholesterol, and triglycerides, a form of fat carried through the bloodstream. At the same time, the drug increased the amount of HDL cholesterol — the "good" cholesterol — in the blood.

"These findings showed significant regression of coronary atherosclerosis, with a 53 percent reduction in ‘bad’ cholesterol and a corresponding 15 percent increase in ‘good’ cholesterol," Dr. Dante Morales, medical director of the Manila Doctors Hospital, said in a recent presentation.

He said the improvement in the cholesterol level substantially reduced the risk of heart attacks in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease.

"Clinical studies have shown that less than one percent regression of coronary atherosclerosis is associated with major reductions of between 70 to 80 percent in cardiovascular events," he said.

That means that for only less than one percent shrinkage in "bad" cholesterol build-up, the risk of cardiovascular complications have been avoided by as much as 80 percent.

"ASTEROID offers compelling evidence that rosuvastatin is an important treatment option for cardiovascular disease, and is the only statin to clearly show that the disease, which can progress to heart attacks, can be reversed," Morales said.

The two-year study involved 349 patients with cardiovascular disease at centers in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Each patient received at least one 40-mg pill of Crestor a day, much higher than what is more commonly prescribed at doses of 10 mg or 20 mg.

The 40-mg dose was used because all patients in the study had established, active coronary artery disease and were therefore at high risk of future heart disease events.