• Steven E Nissen and Stephen J Nicholls.
• Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart & Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. nissens@ccf.org.
• Cleve Clin J Med. 2017 Dec 1; 84 (12 Suppl 4): e1-e5.

AbstractStatins therapy reduces atheroma in proportion to the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Proprotein convertase subtilisin--kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors are a new class of injectable human monoclonal antibodies shown to lower LDL-C when added to statin therapy. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 968 patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease were treated with statins alone or combined with the PCSK9 inhibitor, evolocumab, and assessed for change in percent, total volume, and regression of coronary atheroma. Treatment with statins plus evolocumab achieved mean LDL-C levels of 36.6 mg/dL, produced atheroma regression with a mean change in percent of atheroma volume of about 1% (P < .001), and induced regression in a greater percentage of patients. The clinical benefits of LDL-C as low as 20 mg/dL shown in this trial warrant further investigation.Copyright © 2017 Cleveland Clinic.

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