Scientists on brink of curing heart disease

Breakthrough drugs that alter your DNA tipped to end world’s biggest killer

SPECIALISTS have discovered treatments that ‘rewrite’ DNA to halt the body’s production of damaging cholesterol and drive down high blood pressure – two major risks for heart attacks and stroke.

If the new drugs live up to their promise, daily tablets – such as statins, blood-thinners and betablockers – taken by millions to reduce their risks of heart disease could become a thing of the past.

Los Angeles cardiologist Professor Karol Watson said: ‘I cannot emphasise enough how revolutionary these [therapies] are. We are delving into uncharted territory with entirely new therapeutic strategies, new molecules and new mechanisms. This is the stuff we could only have dreamed about until a few years ago, and I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.’

Professor Tim Chico of the British Heart Foundation, said the findings had prompted ‘a shift in perspective’, adding: ‘Rather than managing cardiovascular events in later life, if given early enough, these new approaches offer hope of curing cardiovascular disease.’

Around 10,000 people die from heart disease and strokes every year in Ireland.

Twice-yearly jab zilebesiran could reduce blood pressure by ‘switching off’ a key gene. The results seen in the trial could equate to a 20% reduction in the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

We can also reveal a second experimental drug, Verve-101, could cut LDL (or ‘bad’) cholesterol levels in half after a single dose.

It does this by making a small change to DNA in liver cells.

And there was more good news – this time for those affected by a little-known type of cholesterol called lipoprotein (a).

Also known as Lp(a), it is thought to be as damaging as the betterknown LDL, and one in five adults may have high levels. It’s only recently that cardiologists have begun to understand the key role it plays in heart disease. Experts say raised Lp(a) is usually down to genetics, rather than lifestyle – and even getting tested for it requires a referral to a specialist.

There is no treatment either, bar a dialysis-type therapy called apheresis, which involves being hooked to a machine that cleans cholesterol from the blood.

But this could all change. Lepodisiran, the first drug to reduce Lp(a) – to almost non-existent levels – was unveiled last week.

Once again, genes are the target. Lepodisiran blocks the production of a key protein needed to make Lp(a) in the liver.

In the 48 volunteers tested, a single jab led to an average 94% drop in Lp(a). In some cases, the lipoprotein was undetectable, likely meaning heart risk was slashed to almost nothing. Levels have remained stable for a year and counting.

Although more research will be needed to see if this translates to fewer heart attacks and strokes, the excitement around these early findings was palpable – and three other drug treatments for lowering Lp(a) are in the pipeline.

Professor Steven Nissen, who led the lepodisiran trial, said: ‘People haven’t heard of Lp(a) but they need to, because having a high level doubles heart attack and stroke risk, independent of other risk factors such as high LDL. And now we’re going to be able to treat it.’

Kausik Ray, Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College London, said: ‘One of the only options for people who discover they have high Lp(a) is apheresis. Not many hospitals offer it, so patients find themselves in a difficult situation. This is an exciting time.’