Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Thirty years ago, researchers showed that a family living
in a northern Italian town lived to be very old and were
extraordinarily resistant to heart attacks. These people were
unusual because they had extremely low blood levels of the good HDL
cholesterol that prevents heart attacks. The researchers found that
their HDL cholesterol was much denser and had much larger particles
than the normal HDL cholesterol, and did a better job of clearing
cholesterol from the bloodstream. They concluded that the special
HDL, which they called HDL-Milano, is so much more effective that
these people don't need very much to prevent arteriosclerosis.
Before the discovery of HDL-Milano, researchers would not
waste their time trying to give HDL infusions to prevent heart attacks
because they could not patent a biological product and therefore
could not make any money from their experiments. However, HDL-Milano
is a specific, patentable product. The next step was to copy
HDL-Milano and infuse it into people with plaques in their arteries,
and show that their plaques became smaller. That has been done
(Journal of the American Medical Association, November 4, 2003).
However, it will be at least six years before HDL-Milano
treatments are available to the public. For now, eat lots of plants,
avoid smoking and being overweight, restrict saturated fats and
partially hydrogenated fats, and exercise regularly. Then you won't
ever need the HDL-Milano by intravenous infusion.
April 2, 2006