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A new medical technique known as RNA interference therapy is found to be capable of switching off the genes responsible for increasing blood cholesterol levels in the body. This treatment can be safely given to patients with or without statins and can reduce heart attacks and stroke incidences related to high cholesterol.

This is a new technique that can be given twice a year to patients with high cholesterol level problems, a cheaper and more convenient method in controlling cholesterol levels, the Science Daily cited. The medical procedure involves the introduction of inclisiran or placebo via subcutaneous injection in the body that can control cholesterol levels by targeting the genes that are responsible for the increase in the levels of bad cholesterol in the body.

The author of the study, Professor Kausik Ray from the School of Public Health at Imperial, claims that they may have found an easy-to-take, safe and versatile treatment for controlling cholesterol levels.

Such breakthrough can help in lowering the chances of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and heart attacks. Statins are the current standard used in treating high levels of blood cholesterol, combined with exercise and healthy diet. However, come patients are immune to statins and does not show any improvement despite high doses of intake.

The experiment involved 497 patients with high cholesterol and high risk of cardiovascular diseases, the New York Times pointed. Seventy-three of these patients were already taking stations and 31 percent were taking ezetimibe, another cholesterol-lowering drug. Patients that were given the new treatment with doses of inclisiran or placebo via subcutaneous injection showed 51 percent of reduced LDL cholesterol levels after one month of treatment.

In all patients, cholesterol levels stayed lower for at least eight months and no side effects were observed. This experiment, however, is still in an early-phase study and is one of the first clinical trial using the drug. Further research and experimentation are to be performed before the treatment can be made available in the market.