The Nation - News from Jan. 2, 1987

A combination of two drugs can dramatically lower blood cholesterol levels and may be a powerful therapy for people with heart disease caused by hardening of the arteries, researchers said. The treatment appears to prevent further buildup of waxy plaque in dangerously clogged blood vessels and may prove to reverse the atherosclerotic process, said Dr. Scott Grundy of the University of Texas Health Science Center. Lovastatin, an experimental drug, effectively lowered cholesterol levels to near-normal levels, and was found even more powerful in combination with colestipol, a medication often given to relieve itching caused by cirrhosis.