By IANS
London : Scientists have developed a pill that can cut cholesterol by 40 percent within two weeks, good news for thousands of patients who are unable take statins or the hypolipidemic drugs used to lower cholesterol levels.
Researchers at Swedish pharmaceutical firm Karo Bio, who carried out tests of the pill on humans and mice, said the drug could be an alternative to statins for people who suffer side effects such as muscle weakness and liver problems.
The tablets are codenamed KB2115 and expected to be on market within three years.
Both the drugs lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes by reducing the build-up of cholesterol – a waxy, fat-like substance – in the arteries. High cholesterol in the blood can increase the risk of several health disorders including heart attack.
John Baxter of the University of California carried out the research in conjunction with Swedish scientists on animals and humans.
On animals they found that higher doses of the new drug managed to cut the risk of obesity and diabetes by lowering cholesterol.
The researchers, who so far have tested the drug on just 24 patients, are about to start a larger study using more than 170, the online edition of Daily Mail reported.
They also found beneficial effect on humans without any major side effects. In tests on humans, one tablet a day for two weeks was enough to cut cholesterol levels by 40 percent, the scientists said.
The findings of the research have appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
In the next study scientists said they would try to find out whether the use of KB2115 gives better result or the use of the drug with statins has greater effect on cholesterol.