Its a mouse model, so still early and inconclusive, but a positive move in a good direction:
Repair Biotechnologies, Inc. announced today breakthrough results from a preclinical study of the Cholesterol Degrading Platform (CDP) in a mouse model of late-stage cardiovascular disease. A single treatment of the CDP drug developed by Repair Biotechnologies resulted in a 48% reversal of the obstruction of aortic blood vessels by lipid-based plaque.
Is the date on this announcement correct? It says March 2021
My bad… It came up on my twitter feed so i assumed it was new and didn’t notice the date.
It does bring into question what they’ve been up to since then
How about this?
Interesting. There is nothing more up to date on company website.
There is no mention of 3.8% reduction in that study, 3.2% is mentioned as a decrease in plaque score.
How clinically significant is a 3.2% reduction in plaque score?
He mentions a 1.9% increase in the control group. At my age and with my medical history, I’d welcome a decrease in plaque. The highly restrictive Ornish diet has modest results. But this is only one study. I’d like to see more. Still, berberine is not very expensive.
Berberine isn’t risk free, it’s a dirty drug, but your risk-benefit calculation differs from mine. The best you can do is to keep apoB and non-HDL-C extremely low, IMO, like with a PCSK9 inhibitor, not medical advice. Ask your cardiologist what you can do.
I think Ornish diet with vitamin b12 supplement or multivitamin is risk free, but none of these things are a replacement for things like extremely low apoB via drugs+lifestyle, that would be a huge mistake.
This is the case for any lipid-lowering mediation, apparently. This is news since most of these medications will be cheaper than berberine, and have better quality control
Can you share a bit more about the risks of berberine and why it is a dirty drug?
A drug is not “dirty” because it targets more conditions or has more than one effect.
To me, a “dirty” drug is one that has significant harmful effects in addition to its beneficial ones. Do you think Berberine falls into this category and if so please provide citations. I am always willing to learn more.
Berberine and Metformin are “dirty drugs” because they affect many different molecular pathways. Unlike Rapamycin which only impacts the mTOR pathway.
Details here:
Below is an article from the Life Extension Foundation about using Glisodin and pomegranate extract for reversing atherosclerosis.
An affordable source of Glisodin providing the 500 IU mentioned in the LEF article:
https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-sod-antioxidant-catalyst
A study in rabbits showing apple extract may promote regression of atherosclerosis:
I am using the definition from here:
Lots of different mechanisms isn’t good, all else being equal, IMO. Especially when the risks are unknown (small studies/no FDA approval).
That it decreases LDL and blood sugar and affect the microbiome is a little scary to me. But mostly because I don’t know what the risks really are.
I would rather use clean drugs like rapamycin, statins, possibly acarbose (i haven’t looked into this), etc.
Okay, but that term could be applied to many multi-functional supplements that are known to be good for you. I really think “dirty” is a very unscientific term that would discourage someone from using a supplement that may be beneficial to to them. As for Berberine it has an extensive track record.
My observation about Berberine having taken it off on for decades is that it really not very effective in doses I am willing to take.
Metformin is a “dirty” drug that has undoubtedly extended the lives of many thousands and is always near the top of the list of life extending compounds.
All else is equal, a clean drug is probably better than a dirty drug imo.
Still doesn’t mean a dirty drug can’t be safe or effective.
For berberine we don’t really know if it’s safe, it’s a supplement, not many have or are taking it. Not a lot a data. Just my opinion, and that it affects many systems isn’t helping the case when there isn’t a lot of data on safety.
Just because it is natural and a supplement doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Vlasko, thanks for that information. I’ve been getting Life Extension’s articles for many years. In 2007, the date of the article, CVD was a disease for someone else so I never read it. How times change. I bought pomegranate juice yesterday. The best deal on glisodin that I see is Swanson brand, 2 bottles for $56 on Amazon. Each bottle would last 2 months.
Here’s a similar article to what you posted if anyone is interested:
