In a pilot study of people living with HIV or high levels of cholesterol, researchers found that a six-week course of a novel cholesterol-lowering medication improved the function of the coronary arteries that provide oxygen to the heart.
The drug used in the study, a PCSK9 inhibitor called evolocumab, lowers the activity of PCSK9, a protein involved in cholesterol metabolism. These levels are higher in people with HIV and in those with high cholesterol.
Currently, people with HIV receive antiretroviral medications and rarely die from the virus itself. However, the same people have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease as a result of chronic inflammation due to the virus, and they are significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than the general population.
The drug may help limit heart disease risk in those tested, the researchers say. They caution that larger studies of longer duration are needed. The current study, funded in part by NHLBI, appeared in the Journal of the American Heart Association.