LONDON—
So-called "good" cholesterol may actually increase
heart attack risks in some people, researchers said Thursday, a discovery that
casts fresh doubt on drugs designed to raise it.
High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is generally
associated with reduced heart risks, since it usually offsets the
artery-clogging effects of the low density (LDL) form.
But some people have a rare genetic mutation that causes the
body to have high levels of HDL and this group, paradoxically, has a higher
heart risk, scientists reported in the journal Science.
"Our results indicate that some causes of raised HDL
actually increase risk for heart disease," said lead researcher Daniel
Rader of the University of Pennsylvania. "This is the first demonstration
of a genetic mutation that raises HDL but increases risk of heart
disease."
The scientists found that people with the mutation had an
increased relative risk of coronary heart disease almost equivalent to the risk
caused by smoking.
Normally, HDL is an important helper in the smooth running
of the cardiovascular system by ferrying cholesterol to the liver, where it is
eliminated. But this process is disrupted in people with a faulty
version of a gene known as SCARB1, leading to high levels of HDL that fails to
do its job, Rader and colleagues found. The mutation appears to be specific to
people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
The finding could help explain why drugs that boost HDL have
so far failed to deliver expected benefits in clinical trials.
Over the past decade, three experimental drugs known as CETP
inhibitors from Pfizer, Roche and Eli Lilly have flopped in tests, leaving
Merck's anacetrapib as the only one remaining in late-stage studies. Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart
Foundation, which supported the research, said the new research had shed light
on a major puzzle and could open up new medical avenues in the longer term.
"These unexpected findings pave the way for further
research into the SCARB1 pathway to identify new treatments to reduce heart
attacks in the future," he said in a statement.
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