Lipid Lowering Therapy: An Era Beyond Statins
Source : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0146280622002390?via=ihub
Available online 31 July 2022, 101342 Dyslipidemia, specifically elevated LDL cholesterol levels, causes atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and increases the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. Statins, a class of drugs that exert their effects by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, a key enzyme in the synthesis of cholesterol, have been the mainstay of therapy for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and lipids reduction.
Conclusion/Relevance: Overall, although statins continue to be the gold standard, non-statin therapies are set to play an increasingly important role in managing dyslipidemia.
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• Source: Current Problems in Cardiology
• Conclusion: “This review explores non-statin lipid-lowering therapies and examines recent advances and emerging research. Over the previous decades, several lipid-lowering therapies, both as monotherapy and adjuncts to statin therapy and lipid-targeting gene therapy, have emerged, thus redefining how we treat dyslipidemia.”
• As far as exciting developments, the international authors explain how CRISPR was done on mice to introduce PCSK9 inhibition.
• The authors stress the importance of long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs), which are necessary for genetic regulation and could be targeted as lipid treatment.
• The authors state, “MIAT (myocardial infarction-associated transcript) is a lncRNA that acts as a hypoxia-response gene. In a study, MIAT was markedly increased in patients with atherosclerosis. Until now, it has been found that MIAT increases blood lipid levels, increases the lipid content of the atherosclerotic plaque, and decreases the collagen content of atherosclerotic plaque. Thus, MIAT could be a potential target for the treatment of atherosclerosis.”