NBC晚间新闻 降胆固醇新药或使广大人群受益（在线收听）

One in four Americans takes cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. They work but often cause painful side effects. Primarily muscle pain. Jack Manley says he could barely walk when he was on the medication. It was very discomforting. Yeah it was constant like leg cramps. Now a new study in today's New England Journal of Medicine is reporting that an experimental medication called bempedoic acid taken along with a statin, reduced cholesterol by 18 percent.

This medicine could help a lot of people. Many people can't take a high dose of a powerful statin, so particularly we use combinations. Two medications, sometimes lower doses, to get the same effect. Jack took the drug along with his low dose statin as part of a clinical trial. His cholesterol is now down nearly 100 points and he says he's feeling better than ever. I want to be able to enjoy my grandchildren, so it's very important. The drug is now under FDA review and could be approved early next year. It's expected to cost thirty five hundred a year.

在美国，每四个人中就有一个人在服用他汀类降胆固醇药物。这类药物有效果，但是它们常会导致副作用。主要是肌肉疼痛。杰克·曼利称，他在服用这类药物时，几乎不能走路。服药后感觉非常不舒服，是的，感觉就像是腿抽筋一样。现在《新英格兰医学杂志》上的一项新研究报告称，一种名为bempedoic acid的实验药物与他汀类药物一起服用，降低了18%的胆固醇。这种药可以帮助很多人。很多人不能服用高剂量的强效他汀类药物，所以我们特别使用联合用药。两种药物，有时服用较低剂量，可达到同样的效果。作为临床试验的一部分，杰克在服用该药的同时也服用了低剂量的他汀类药物。他的胆固醇现在下降了近100点，他说他感觉比以往任何时候都好。我想享受跟孙子孙女在一起的乐趣，所以这很重要。该药物目前正在接受美国食品及药物管理局的审查，有望在明年初获得批准。此药预计每年花费3500美元。