Hopes are high for a powerful new compound aimed at lowering blood fat levels responsible for potentially fatal heart disease. In a recent trial, the oral drug, TLC-2716, lowered blood triglycerides by almost 40 percent and remnant cholesterol by more than 60 percent.
The drug was tested in a clinical trial involving 100 healthy adults to assess its effects on a metabolic switch that is active in the liver and gut, and involved in making and handling fats. The trial was the first of its kind on humans, and more testing is required.
Researchers initially isolated the switch, called Liver X Receptor ⍺ (LXR⍺), through analysis of large human genetics databases. Then they linked it to blood-fat-related metabolic disorders using Mendelian randomization, a powerful technique for linking gene expression and outcomes.






