Readers discuss cholesterol treatments and AI

Get low (cholesterol’s version)

An experimental genetic treatment called VERVE-101 can deactivate a cholesterol-raising gene in people with hypercholesterolemia, Meghan Rosen reported in “Base editing can lower cholesterol” (SN: 1/27/24, p. 8).

Rosen wrote that researchers are testing to see what dosage of VERVE-101 is most effective. Given that the treatment edits a gene, reader Linda Ferrazzara wondered why the dose matters.

Too low a dose may mean that not enough VERVE-101 makes it to the liver, where it turns off the gene, Rosen says. If too few cells have the gene switched off, patients will not experience the drug’s cholesterol-lowering effects.