ONE of the world's largest studies on the impact of cholesterol-lowering medication has highlighted an issue with a new class of drugs that could impair lung function in some patients.
That's the finding from a recent University of South Australia study, the first in the world to compare cholesterol- lowering medications (LDL-C drugs) to a range of clinical and heart and brain MRI biomarkers.
Genetic data from 340,000 UK Biobank participants were analysed to explore the risks and benefits of LDL-C drugs.
The outcomes have been published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, HERE.
In the vast number of cases, statins do what they promise, which is to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
However, lipid-lowering meds that clear cholesterol from the cells, known as PCSK9 inhibitors, could impair lung function, and further studies are needed on their long-term side effects, researchers said.
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