New drug lowers LDL or 'bad' cholesterol

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A new drug developed in Sweden may cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by dropping levels of "bad" low density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol.

The drug known as KB2115 was developed by Karo Bio AB, a Swedish pharmaceutical company. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and at the University of California, San Francisco said the drug mimics the action of thyroid hormone and accelerates the hormone's natural ability to rid the body of LDL. High LDL levels increase the risk for heart attack and stroke.

The Phase II trial involved 24 moderately overweight people with high LDL levels.

One group received a placebo, and each of the other groups received a different dose of KB2115.

The study, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that after two weeks, LDL levels were lowered by an average of 40 percent in the groups that took the highest doses.

In the clinical trial, KB2115 decreased cholesterol levels in two ways -- by lowering LDL levels and promoting the removal of cholesterol through the liver.