New Cholesterol Drug - Caution Advised!

The FDA just approved a new drug for cholesterol, Praluent which is an inject-able medication which lowers LDL (or "bad" cholesterol) through a different mechanism than other drugs.

However, there are no studies yet that show that this drug can lower the risk of heart disease, even though it decreases the cholesterol. In the past, other medications that had similar effects, such as Zetia, did not stop arteriosclerosis and therefore are ineffective.

Lipitor and other "statins" have been clearly shown to lower the risk of heart attacks in at risk patients. Many physicians believe that they do this through an anti-inflammatory effect and that the lowering of cholesterol is essentially a side effect. It this is true we might expect Praluent not to help.

You may see a media blitz as Sanofi-Aventis tries to convince everyone that this is the best option! It has only been tested in about 2500 patients; far too small a population to discover serious adverse effects.

I would use Praluent only as a last ditch medication in patients with known high risk factors who cannot take any statins and may be unable to change their lifestyle habits sufficiently. And with no promises of success!