"People who cant control cholesterol with diet exercise and statin drugs could soon have a new option.  According to a new study a medication ancetrapib appears to simultaneously raise the level of HDL  sometimes called good cholesterol and to lower the level of LDL or bad cholesterol.  HDL cholesterol is not fully understood but essentially sucks cholesterol out of cells to be flushed from the body through the liver. The study was sponsored by Merck the drugs manufacturer. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine httpscdf.nejm.orgservicesGetOnlineFirstPDF.aspxDOINEJMoa and results were to be presented Wednesday at a meeting of American Heart Association in Chicago. The socalled DEFINE trial involved  patients with coronary heart disease or at high risk for it. All were taking statins to lower LDL cholesterol. Roughly half also received ancetrapib while half got a placebo. On average within  weeks patients getting ancetrapib saw LDL levels drop by nearly  percent compared with the placebo group while their HDL levels rose by  percent. There were no significant side effects. If the same benefit were seen in all patients at risk of heart disease  far from a sure thing  it would translate to hundreds of thousands of fewer deaths and heart attacks over a fiveyear period according to Dr. Christopher Cannon the lead study author and a cardiologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Its an amazing result said Dr. Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado a past president of the American Heart Association. Its like a rocket that landed on Jupiter rather than the moon. Still Eckel warned its too soon to say whether ancetrapib would actually prevent disease over the long run. Theres ample reason for caution. A similar medication torcetrapib was considered promising four years ago but was shelved by Pfizer after studies found it actually raised blood pressure and the risk of heart problems and death. Dr. PK Shah cardiologist at the CedarsSinai Heart Institute said that hes encouraged by DEFINE but that some of the details give him pause. It appears to be safe and to not raise blood pressure Shah told CNN but its not a slamdunk. For one thing despite improved cholesterol levels patients did not see less inflammation in their blood vessels. Inflammation is a sign of damage from cholesterol. To try to provide final answers Merck is launching a study  called REVEAL  to follow  people in several countries over four years. The first patients will be enrolled in April according to Dr. Rory Collins of Oxford University where the research will be overseen. Lee Davies a Merck spokesman said the company is not likely to seek FDA approval until those results are in most likely in . By then results will also be in on a large study of a similar drug httpclinicaltrials.govctshowNCT dalcetrapib made by Mercks competitor Roche."