Pill may prevent dialysis in children with bad cholesterol

Researchers from the University of Rovira e Virgili (URV) together with the University Hospital of Sant Joan de Reus (HUSJR) discovered a new drug to avoid dialysis in children with hypercholesterolemia. This pathology causes blood cholesterol levels in children that are dangerous to their health. Now a study published in The Lancet Diabetes has found that the pill (lomitapide) can reduce cholesterol levels in these children by up to 50%.

Studies have demonstrated effectiveness lomitapide by lowering LDL cholesterol (known as bad cholesterol) in children with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) over six months.

A drug approved for use in adults, but not in minors. reduced blood cholesterol levels by more than 50% in patients aged 5 to 18 years. with this genetic disease.

This pathology, experts explain, This is a rare inherited disease that affects two in a million children. and this results in blood concentrations greater than 500 mg/dL.

With this disease, cardiovascular pathologies develop on average already at 12 years of age. If not treated properly, The average life expectancy will be 18 years. For this reason, experts insist on early diagnosis to facilitate treatment.

However, Current medications used to treat this disease are not very effective.

Therefore, other treatments and therapies are required that are not typically approved for patients this young.

“Our goal was to determine the effectiveness and safety of lomitapide in pediatric patients,” says Luis Masana, one of the study authors. To do this, the researchers conducted a clinical study involving 46 children aged 5 to 18 years.

According to experts, for lomitapide treatment to work, you must follow a strict diet and take some dietary supplements. “We do a ‘running’ phase; we need to make sure they tolerate the diet and supplements well before moving into the active phase,” adds Masana.

The expert assures that The “results” of the study “were very positive”

as “there was an average decline of more than 50%.”

Without a doubt, this is great news for all affected patients and their families, as in the not too distant future, their symptoms could be alleviated with just one pill. “Changes in medicine are brutal,” he concludes.