Familial Hypercholesterolemia News and Research

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Blood donations could hold clues to dangerous genetic cholesterol condition

What if your blood donation held clues to a dangerous genetic cholesterol condition that could also affect the health of your loved ones?

23 May 2019

Researchers evaluate risk factors and outcomes for young adults with familial hypercholesterolemia

Heart attacks among adults younger than 50 years of age are on the rise. In fact, the proportion of very young people has been increasing, rising by 2 percent each year for the last 10 years, according to a team of investigators a Brigham and Women's Hospital who are focused on studying heart attacks among young adults.

22 May 2019

A new option for reducing LDL cholesterol in patients at high risk for heart attack, stroke

Patients at high risk for a heart attack or stroke who took an investigational drug in addition to a statin had significantly lower LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, after 12 weeks compared to similar patients who took a placebo in addition to statin therapy, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68thAnnual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2019

Success for new cholesterol-lowering drug

A new, oral drug that effectively lowers LDL or "bad" cholesterol, looks set for clinical approval.

14 Mar 2019

Study finds low rates of lipid screening among women of childbearing age

Eight out of 10 women of childbearing age have never had their cholesterol levels checked, despite clear guidelines to get a first lipid blood test early in adulthood, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

7 Mar 2019

Scientists cast new light on function of long-mysterious PCSK9 mutation

High levels of low-density lipoproteins, parcels of lipids and protein that carry cholesterol, are a leading risk factor for heart disease. Many cholesterol medications lower LDL, some of them by targeting the protein PCSK9. In the January issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, report on an investigation into why experiments on PCSK9 give different results in a test tube and in liver cells.

2 Jan 2019

Cholesterol control revised in the latest AHA/ACC guidelines

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have released their latest 121 page guidelines on risk assessment and management of high cholesterol for people who are at a greater risk of heart attacks or strokes.

11 Nov 2018

Are you and your primary care doc ready to talk about your DNA?

If you have a genetic mutation that increases your risk for a treatable medical condition, would you want to know? For many people the answer is yes. But such information is not commonly part of routine primary care.

22 May 2018

Study finds low treatment rates for people with elevated cholesterol levels

Less than 40 percent of people with severe elevations in cholesterol are being prescribed appropriate drug treatment, according to a nationally representative study reported in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

26 Mar 2018

CRISPR-like gene editing could be potential way to treat patients with harmful blood lipid levels

Using a variation of CRISPR gene editing may be a potential strategy for mimicking the protective effects of a genetic mutation linked to lower cholesterol levels and heart disease risks, according to new mouse research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published this week in Circulation.

28 Feb 2018

Polygenic risk score predicts early-onset heart disease risk

A risk score based on multiple genetic differences, or polygenic risk score, predicted significantly more cases of early-onset heart disease than standard tests for single genetic defects, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.

8 Jan 2018

Nanoparticles carrying CRISPR gene editing tools for genetic modifications

Researchers from MIT have now developed nanoparticles that could carry CRISPR genetic editing systems deep within the cells and perform their functions on the DNA. The paper was published in the November issue of Nature Biotechnology.

14 Nov 2017

Junk genes could one day offer framework for treating people with familial hypercholesterolemia

Scientists from UCLA and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute successfully used a gene that suppresses cholesterol levels as part of a treatment to reduce plaque in mice with a disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia.

26 Aug 2017

PCSK9 Inhibitors: Highlights barriers to new, breakthrough cholesterol-lowering drugs

Today the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health released a new web video, “PCSK9 Inhibitors: Access Barriers Affect Real People” The video, featuring patient testimonials, explores access issues to new, breakthrough cholesterol-lowering drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors.

3 May 2017

Novel synthetic HDL-C injection shows no benefit on arterial plaques

Injection of a novel form of synthetic high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or good cholesterol, into the arteries of patients who had recently had a heart attack did not reduce the volume of fatty deposits, or plaque, in the arteries, compared with placebo injections, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

20 Mar 2017

UAB researchers developing new peptide that may help combat familial hypercholesterolemia

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are developing and testing a new peptide that they hope will lead to better treatment options for familial hypercholesterolemia.

22 Feb 2017

Linking human genome sequences to EHR information could influence clinical medicine, says expert

The value of intersecting the sequencing of individuals' exomes or full genomes to find rare genetic variants -- on a large scale -- with their detailed electronic health record information has "myriad benefits, including the illumination of basic human biology, the early identification of preventable and treatable illnesses, and the identification and validation of new therapeutic targets," wrote Daniel J. Rader, MD, chair of the Department of Genetics, in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in Science this week, with Scott M. Damrauer, MD, an assistant professor of Surgery at Penn and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

23 Dec 2016

$Lipoprotein apheresis may have new role in patients with refractory angina$

Lipoprotein apheresis may have new role in patients with refractory angina

Initial investigation of patients with suspected coronary heart disease (CHD) using functional imaging - rather than guideline-directed care - resulted in significantly less unnecessary angiography, according to results of the CE-MARC 2 trial.

29 Aug 2016

PCSK9 inhibitor can reduce need for apheresis treatment in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia

Patients who have heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), a condition that causes abnormally raised low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and premature cardiovascular disease, can significantly reduce or even eliminate their need for expensive and time-consuming apheresis treatments with the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab.