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Patients unable to control their cholesterol levels with medications may someday be able to lower their "bad"cholesterol with a shot, according to research presented at theAmerican Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. In its first preliminary human tests, the medicine in the new shotlowered low density lipoprotein, or "bad" cholesterol, in healthyvolunteers who received the highest dose an average 64 percent morethan those who received an inactive placebo injection. The injected material - targeting a recently-identified cholesterolregulator - is a monoclonal antibody that's a laboratory-made humanprotein. Monoclonal antibodies are already used to treat certain cancers and other medical conditions. In the study, scientists created the monoclonal antibody AMG145 todisable the cholesterol regulator PCSK9, which interferes with theliver's ability to remove bad cholesterol from the blood.Therefore, turning it off improves cholesterol levels. "PCSK9 is the first target in lipid metabolism to be inhibitedusing a monoclonal antibody, and it appears to be a promising wayto lower bad cholesterol," said Clapton Dias, Ph.D., leadresearcher and medical sciences director of clinical pharmacologyand early development at Amgen, Inc., in Thousand Oaks, Ca. The study involved 54 men and two women, 18 to 45 years old, whowere healthy and not taking other medications. Participantsreceived a single injection that contained one of five doses ofAMG145 or a placebo. Sixteen received the injections intravenouslyand the others got simple injections that delivered the drug justunderneath the skin. After the injections, bad cholesterol was measured frequently for85-113 days, along with other laboratory measures related to heart disease . With increasing doses of AMG145, blood tests revealed: Less of the active form of PCSK9; Lower levels of bad cholesterol, total cholesterol and apo-B (theprimary protein component of bad cholesterol); No effect on triglycerides, high density lipoprotein ("good"cholesterol) or a protein associated with good cholesterol - alllipid measures were not influenced by the PCSK9 regulator. "The more PCSK9 was lowered, the more bad cholesterol levels wentdown," Dias said. "With higher doses, bad cholesterol stayed lowerfor a longer period." The injections were tolerated well, with volunteers receivingAMG145 experiencing no more side effects than those receiving theplacebo. The study included a small number of participants, and they werehealthy. So the company is conducting a similar study that givesmultiple doses of AMG145 to adults who take statin medication tocontrol their cholesterol. If AMG145 proves safe and effective in further clinical trials, itcould help people unable to control their cholesterol with currentmedications that work in different ways. Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Canon Printer Toner Cartridges , Xerox Phaser Toner Cartridges for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Brother Laser Printer Toner Cartridges.
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