“In a small, preliminary study, an experimental gene-editing treatment dramatically lowered cholesterol levels, perhaps permanently, after just one infusion, scientists reported on Monday.

If confirmed in larger studies, researchers hope the findings may lead to a one-and-done way to prevent heart disease in large numbers of people. Most gene therapies target rare diseases, but cardiovascular disease kills nearly 800,000 Americans a year…

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, was an interim analysis of 35 patients in a trial that will involve as many as 85 participants. All have genetically high levels of LDL cholesterol — the bad kind — or heart disease.

In the 35 patients, a single infusion of the highest dose of the treatment reduced LDL cholesterol levels by as much as 62 percent. The change has been sustained in a subgroup whose members were treated 18 months ago.

It will be followed by a larger study of 200 patients.”

From New York Times.