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Researchers report breakthrough in lowering
Cholesterol, Fatty Acids
Newswise — Researchers at the University of
Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada, have found a
way to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol
and fatty acids that end up in the blood
from food the body metabolizes, a key
discovery that could lead to new drugs to
treat and reverse the effects of Type 2
diabetes and heart disease related to
obesity.
In a series of recently published articles,*
Dr. Richard Lehner and his colleagues report
they successfully decreased the level of LDL
(low-density lipids) – the so-called bad
cholesterol – and triglycerides in the blood
of mice and hamsters by manipulating a
particular enzyme.
It’s well-known that eating too much fat and
sugar and too little exercise will make you
fat, and that obesity often leads to
diabetes and heart disease. Lehner’s group
studied the mechanisms behind this.
“We established the proof of principle of
how these metabolic pathways work,” he says.
“We discovered the activity of an enzyme
that releases fatty acids from fat cells and
the liver into the blood and how to inhibit
this from happening.”
Drugs called statins are used to lower LDL
levels in patients, but do not treat
obesity.
What makes the U of A researchers’
findings noteworthy is their discovery of
how to inhibit LDL and triglycerides, which
are another form of fat in the blood and a
leading risk in obesity-related Type 2
diabetes as well as heart disease.
Lehner is director of the Group on Molecular
and Cell Biology of Lipids in the U of A’s
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. The
research is being supported by the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research and the Heart
and Stroke Foundation.
Lehner is also a senior scholar for the
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical
Research.
“There is a substantial pharmacological
interest in the enzymes that control TG
(triglycerides – fatty acids) and
cholesterol metabolism in tissues,” he says.
This unique discovery is an important
scientific breakthrough, but one that
requires further testing, he notes.
He also notes that a pill would not be “a
magic bullet.” People still need to make the
right lifestyle choices by exercising and
eating properly, he says.
