Risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes affected by PCSK9 and HMGCR genetic variations

(Brigham and Women's Hospital) In a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and a collaboration of international researchers, studied variants in the genes encoding HMGCR (the target of statins) and PCSK9 (the target of PCSK9 inhibitors) that affect cholesterol levels, and found that variants that lowered LDL cholesterol in each gene were associated with nearly identical protective effects on the risk of cardiovascular events per unit reduct...