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A MASSIVE dose of HDL ''good'' cholesterol injected into patients after a heart attack can quickly break down fatty deposits in the arteries and might prevent subsequent attacks, Australian scientists have said after early tests of a new therapy derived from donated blood.

The original article can be found at: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/scientists-find-wasted-blood-thats-worth-bottling-20091210-kmbp.html

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It is difficult to reconcile this brief and quite optimistic article with the available scientific literature on infusions of high density lipoprotein (the "good' cholesterol that protects against heart and arterial disease). The Australian-based company CSL tested a proprietary form HDL infusion (called CSL-111) several years ago in a randomised controlled clinical trial (abstract available at http://jama.ama-assn.org). That found only a marginally significant effect on blockages of coronary arteries. It is unclear whether this is the same product that was tested on leg arteries in this story and it is not clear what a reduction in "the amount of fat in leg arteries by 60 per cent after a week" means. So this claim should have been placed in context, and an independent expert who was aware of the available literature might have done this; but no independent comment was provided in the article. It is premature to speculate on the costs of such treatment until we know whether it works, but it should be noted that an adverse effect of HDL infusion on the liver was found in the trial mentioned earlier.

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