
MONDAY, Nov. 13, 2023 (Healthday News) — Two new gene-editing treatments that target dangerously high levels of cholesterol in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition were found safe and effective in new, groundbreaking research. While powerful drugs like statins can help manage cholesterol in most people, they can’t treat those who have genes that predispose them to heart troubles. But the duo of studies, presented Sunday at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Philadelphia, may one day change that. Both treatments will need years of additional research before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would even consider approving them, but that didn’t dampen the excitement among heart experts. “There is no way to categorize this other than revolutionary,” Dr. Hugh Cassiere, director for critical care services at South Shore University Hospital, Northwell Cardiovascular Institute, in New York, told NBC News. He was not involved with either study. One of the treatments, from Boston-based Verve Therapeutics, uses a gene-editing approach that targets the PCSK9 gene, making a tiny change to the gene. The effect is akin to a permanent eraser, deleting the gene’s ability to fuel a rise in cholesterol levels, Verve co-founder and CEO Dr. Sekar Kathiresan told NBC News. In theory, the one-time treatment should last a lifetime. “Instead of daily pills or intermittent injections over decades to lower bad cholesterol, this… read on > read on >