• Question: what other therapy is available for people who dont have another working copy of the low density lipoprotein receptor?

    Asked by annie to Liv on 17 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Olivia Hibbitt

      Olivia Hibbitt answered on 17 Mar 2010:

      Hi Annie,

      so there are two types of FH…..heterozygous….so people who have one working copy….and homozygotes who have no working copies, both types have the condition.
      The homozygotes have it VERY bad, these people usually die by the age of about 7-10 unless they can get a liver transplant. Thankfully there are only about 50 people in the UK with this condition so it’s not very common. The heterozygotes on the other hand make up 1:500 of the population. They don’t have it so bad….their one working copy does some work and they can take statins which do help reduce cholesterol levels but their life expectancy is still only around 50.

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