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Dyslipidaemia

Revealing the effect of CETP inhibition in cardiovascular disease

Initial randomized trials of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors were terminated early owing to adverse effects or futility. The REVEAL trial now shows the benefit of CETP inhibition in coronary heart disease. Despite raising HDL-cholesterol levels, the cardiovascular effect of CETP inhibitors is probably due to lowering of non-HDL-cholesterol levels.

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Figure 1: Non-HDL-cholesterol levels and risk of coronary heart disease in drug trials and genetic studies.

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Acknowledgements

M.V.H. works in a unit that receives funds from the University of Oxford and the UK Medical Research Council. G.D.S. works in a unit that receives funds from the University of Bristol and the UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12013/1). The funders had no role in study design, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Michael V. Holmes.

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Holmes, M., Smith, G. Revealing the effect of CETP inhibition in cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol 14, 635–636 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2017.156

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