Skip to main content

Inclisiran: How does it reduce LDL cholesterol levels in your blood? Statins versus Inclisiran? Side effects of Inclisiran?

Low-lipodensity proteins (LDL) are a type of lipoprotein in the blood which carry cholesterol from the liver cells throughout your body. Although some level of LDL is needed for our cells to work, LDL usually ends up being high in our bloodstream due to the kind of habits that the modern lifestyle indulges in. That’s why LDL is often called the “bad cholesterol’, because when LDL is too high, it’s known to cause atherosclerosis (clots in your arteries) and heart disease. When there’s excess LDL in the blood, cholesterol deposits form in your arteries, narrowing the diameter of your arteries (called lumen) and making it harder for your blood to reach the rest of your body.

What causes high LDL:

·        Diet: A diet high in saturated fat and trans-fat; usually found in red meat, fried foods, and other processed snacks that our modern life is dependent on.

·        Genetics: A genetic predisposition to high LDL cholesterol levels does exist, due to inherited conditions like familial hypercholesterolemia.

·        Low exercise levels: When you don’t exercise enough, which honestly is most of us, our LDL levels shoot up and HDL levels (good cholesterol) goes down.

·        Obesity: Being obese or even overweight has been shown to increase our LDL levels.

·        Smoking: Tobacco consumption lowers HDL and increased LDL in your blood.

Inclisiran is a new medication which has been specifically designed to lower your LDL levels, especially in people who are at risk for heart disease. Inclisiran is basically an RNA-based medicine which works to reduce the production of PCSK9(A protein which reduces LDL receptors, which basically allows LDL cholesterol to stack up in your bloodstream without your body removing any) through RNA interference. With less PCSK9, more LDL receptors are able to sense the high levels of LDL and help your blood clear out this excess LDL and make your cholesterol levels normal again.

Side effects of Inclisiran:

·        Pain, tenderness or swelling around the injection site

·        Occasional fever, chills, or fatigue

·        Allergic reactions in some people

Statins .vs. Inclisiran:

Statins work by reducing the ability of your body to produce HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis. Inclisiran works by increasing your body’s sensitivity to cholesterol and reducing your PCSK9 levels. Why is inclisiran, this newly found medicine, being given so much importance in the medical world?

Because, inclisiran offers so many more advantages over statins:

1.      Less frequent dosage: Inclisiran just has to be injected in your bloodstream a few times a year through a subcutaneous injection while statins need to be consumed in the form of tablets every single day, which can be difficult for people with a tight schedule and lots of priorities.

2.      Lower risk of muscular side effects: Statins have shown to sometimes reduce the ability of your muscles to function. Whilst preliminary research is still being conducted, until now, inclisiran has shown no effects on your muscle efficiency.

3.      Higher efficiency: Inclisiran, in clinical trials, has shown to provide more effective results in reducing LDL levels when compared to Statins.

My final evaluation: All in all, even though inclisiran is a new medicine which still needs to be studied for longer periods to fully evaluate its’ safety for usage in the cardiovascular industry, inclisiran has shown promise to reduce LDL cholesterol. Paired with lifestyle changes, it may just be the way to end heart disease in the world.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Please add your name when you comment down below!

Popular posts from this blog

The top 4 diets for PCOS: DASH diet, high protein diet, reduced calorie diet, and the keto diet. Which is better?

 PCOS is a  condition wherein people have imbalanced hormone levels. These imbalances present themselves in the form of polycystic ovaries, chronic irregular periods, and higher levels of testosterone in the form of increased body/facial hair. Among people who have PCOS, 80% of patients will hold fat around their belly and gain weight because of the effects of hormonal imbalances on their bodies. These effects include insulin resistance, gut dysbiosis, low-grade inflammation and more.  To treat this weight gain, doctors tend to recommend different diets to PCOS patients. But, the efficacy of these diets are heavily dependent on the person's individual situation. There are four major dietary approaches used to lose weight for people with PCOS: Reduced calorie diets, DASH diets, high protein diets, and keto diets. For most people, a combination of all of these diets will work best.  Here's a short explanation of each of these diets:  1) Reduced calorie diet: You e...
Post a Comment
Read more

Eliglustat for Gaucher disease: How does it work? How is it consumed? Side effects? Is it safe? Efficacy? Research? Evidence?

Gaucher disease is a rare genetic disorder wherein the body lacks the ability to break down a specific kind of fat, which leads to accumulation thereof around various parts of the body, such as organs and bones. Eliglustat is one of the most common medications prescribed to help treat the disease by reducing production of the fat itself.  The disease is an inherited lysosomal storage disorder which is caused by an enzyme deficiency, specifically a low level of glucocerebrosidase. This enzyme breaks down a fat with a similar name, glucocerebroside. When the body lacks production of the enzyme, the fat accumulates around and in cells of the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. This causes a variety of symptoms in patients, and can present itself in bizarre ways like: enlarged spleens and livers, increased bone pain and occurrence of fractures, fatigue, anemia and even increased bruising.  Eliglustat, the medicine provided to patients, works in one way: substrate reduction. Basically,...
Post a Comment
Read more

How does oxymetazoline work to clear your nasal passages?

Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride is a topical nasal decongestant that is often found in most OTC nasal sprays like Otrivin in India. It works quite effectively with regards to relieving people from nasal congestion caused by things like colds, allergies, or sinusitis by constricting blood vessels in the nasal passages. The medication is an alpha-adrenergic receptor binder, meaning that it binds to the alpha-adrenergic receptors. These receptors are found on the smooth muscle cells which line blood vessels in the nasal mucosa. When oxymetazoline is applied to the nasal mucosa through droplets, it stimulates the receptors and triggers them to cause constriction of nasal blood vessels. Through vasoconstriction, there is a reduce in blood flow to the region, causing decreased swelling and inflammation. It also reduces how much mucus is produced, since it reduces the quantity of fluid that leaks into the passages. Thus, air can flow more freely in the passage, providing relief from the blocked n...
Post a Comment
Read more