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Thyroid Hormone Analogue Shows Promise for Treating High Cholesterol MANHASSET, NY -- March 12, 2010 -- An experimental thyroid drug reduces cholesterol without the troublesome side effects experienced by some people on statins, according to a study published in this week’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. An international team of investigators from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, the Karolinska University Hospital and Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York, tested a substance called eprotirome in patients with high cholesterol. Following 189 people with high cholesterol over a 3-month period, they observed that it lowered cholesterol levels without the classic thyroid risks to the heart and bone. In the current phase 2 study, 189 patients already taking simvastatin or atorvastatin were randomised to also receive either placebo or 1 of 3 doses of eprotirome daily. After 12 weeks, data indicated that patients who received eprotirome had placebo-adjusted reductions in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations that were between 15% for the lowest dose and 26% for the highest dose. The results also showed similar reductions in apolipoprotein B, as well as reductions in other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as triglycerides and lipoprotein A. What is not known from this study is whether this lowering of cholesterol will ultimately protect patients from heart disease. “Every percentage that you lower cholesterol, you lower the risk for heart disease,” said Irwin Klein, MD, Feinstein Institute. “High cholesterol is the single most modifiable risk factor.” The next phase of testing must include larger numbers of patients. If the results hold, it could ultimately be used as an alternative to statins. A small percentage of patients can’t take statins, either because they don’t work to lower cholesterol for them or they suffer from unrelenting side effects such as muscle pains, myopathy, and tiredness. SOURCE: North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version