According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 33% of American adults--or 71 million people--have high cholesterol. However, only one in three of those have the condition under control.

Researchers at the State University of New York System Medical Center have found an RNA molecule that could provide the basis for new therapies to treat high cholesterol.

Cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders like high cholesterol are often the result of diets high in fat and cholesterol. But even with a normal diet, the body can sometimes produce an abundance of lipoproteins on its own, causing an overproduction of fat in the bloodstream. This condition, known as hyperlipidemia, can also increase a person's risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.
 

In a recent study published online in Nature Medicine, the researchers found that a regulatory RNA molecule--known as microRNA-30c, or miR-30c--interferes with the production of lipoproteins. When tested in a mouse model, the molecule reduced hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis, a condition in which fat, cholesterol and calcium builds up in the form of plaque in the arteries.

"While current medications and changes in diet can be effective, cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States, and additional approaches to decrease lipid levels are needed," said M. Mahmood Hussain, professor of Cell Biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, in a statement.

The findings suggest that a medication mimicking the miR-30c molecule could help reduce hyperlipidemia in people.