Researchers uncover potential alternative to statins

An alternative treatment to statins could be on the horizon.

A team of scientists has discovered a new method to reduce cholesterol in the blood that could provide an alternative or complementary treatment to statins.
Researchers from the University of Michigan explained that mice with an inactive SEC24A gene were shown to inhibit the transportation of the secretory protein PCSK9.
PCSK9 destroys the liver cells' receptors of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or 'bad cholesterol', preventing the cells from removing the LDL.
Protecting LDL receptors (LDLR) from PCSK9 should enable the receptors to remove cholesterol from the bloodstream, demonstrating the importance of blocking SEC24A to disable the vesicle from selecting PCSK9.
Xiao-Wei Chen, of the lab of David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute, said: "Without SEC24A, much of the PCSK9 couldn't make its way out of the cells to destroy the LDLR, which then clears cholesterol from the blood."
The study, published in the journal eLife, explained that while the strategy may not be better than anti-PCSK9 therapy, it could provide an alternative approach to treating high cholesterol.