December 3, 2008 Study: Anti-cholesterol treatment helps diabetic patients Play video

(NECN/ABC) - If moderate lowering of bad cholesterol reduces heart risk, could aggressive cholesterol lowering produce even greater benefits? New research suggests the answer is yes, at least for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Doctors studied 500 diabetic patients for 3 years. Half the group followed the usual guidelines on cholesterol lowering, with an LDL "bad" cholesterol goal of under 100. The other half had an aggressive LDL target of under 70 - and they needed medication to get there.

Participants started with a statin drug and then, if needed, they also took Zetia - which blocks cholesterol in a different manner.

Results show it didn't matter which drugs the patients used. Those who aggressively lowered their cholesterol reduced the thickness of their arteries.

In contrast, those who stuck to traditional cholesterol goals had increases in artery thickness - a risk factor for stroke and heart attack.

Experts say the findings add to the national debate over the appropriate target for LDL cholesterol - some now argue the goal should be under 100 for all middle-age patients.

ABC's Dr. Timothy Johnson reports.

Source: Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology by researchers at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute