Genes involved in response to cholesterol medication dose

Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol in the blood. These drugs keep cholesterol from building up and clogging the arteries. This helps prevent heart disease and heart attacks. But for some people, these drugs don’t work very well. Even when the drug lowers levels of the “bad” cholesterol (LDL), many patients may still have heart attacks. How much the drugs lower cholesterol may be the key. This project will use BioVU samples to look for genes involved in a patient’s response to the statin drug simvastatin (Zocor). First, the researchers will figure out how a person’s drug dose relates to their LDL levels. This will give them a measure of a patient’s dose response. They will then search for genes linked to drug responses. They will look for these genes in larger groups of patients outside of BioVU. In this large group, they will also see how a patient’s dose response relates to whether they later had a heart attack. The results may show what genes affect a patient’s response to simvastatin. This may help predict which patients this drug may work for and those who may need another drug.