This Cholesterol Drug Could Remove PFAS from Blood

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

Key Takeaways

• The cholesterol drug cholestyramine can reduce the amount of PFAS in the blood of some highly exposed people by 60% percent, according to a study.

• If further research validates the work, the treatment could help minimize health harms in the most poisoned people.

• Experts say regulating PFAS production and addressing contamination in the environment is important to prevent PFAS toxicity.

A cholesterol-lowering drug could help scrub toxic forever chemicals from the blood of people who have been highly exposed, according to a small study.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a class of millions of chemicals used to create grease- and water-resistant products like food packaging and clothes. These chemicals can stay in the body and environment for years before breaking down. Over time, PFAS can damage the liver and kidneys, weaken the immune system, increase the risk for certain cancers, and lead to reproductive problems.

Scientists and policymakers are working to limit PFAS contamination and to remove it from drinking water and food systems. Once the chemicals enter a person’s bloodstream, there are fewer tools to remove them.

A new study shows that cholestyramine, a drug that was approved for cholesterol management 50 years ago, provides a potential treatment option for people with high PFAS exposure.

The randomized clinical trial included 45 people in Denmark who had a high concentration of PFAS in their blood. After taking cholestyramine for 12 weeks, the amount of PFAS in their blood dropped by an average of 60%.

People taking the drug excreted the same amount of PFAS in three months that someone without treatment would naturally eliminate in about three and a half years, according to Morten Lindhardt, a clinical associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and lead author of the study.

“That’s pretty groundbreaking from our point of view,” Lindhardt told Verywell. “We have always tried setting up limitations in our environment or in food sources—and of course, we should continue doing that—but if we have very highly exposed individuals, we now have a potential treatment for them.”

Related: Should You Get a Blood Test for PFAS? The CDC Says It's Worth a Chat With Your Doctor

How Does This Drug Work to Remove PFAS?

Cholestyramine works by keeping fat in the gut from breaking down and being reabsorbed into the blood after someone eats. It seems to have a similar effect on PFAS, binding to the chemicals in the gut and keeping it from going back into the blood. The PFAS is instead excreted in the person’s poop.

Another cholesterol medication called colesevelam probably works the same way, the authors wrote. It also comes as a pill, which could be easier for people to take than cholestyramine powder.

Not everyone should take these cholesterol medications, Lindhardt said. They come with mild but sometimes uncomfortable gastrointestinal side effects like constipation, diarrhea, and nausea.

Scientists must test these drugs in bigger trials and in other groups before recommending them to the general population, said Lida Chatzi, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Translational Research on Environmental Health at the University of Southern California, who was not involved with the research.

Chatzi said cholestyramine might be most useful in people with high levels of PFAS and dyslipidemia, given that this class of medications is designed to manage lipid levels.

If further research supports the use of cholesterol drugs for eliminating PFAS, Lindhardt said that the treatment could help “break the chain” of PFAS transmission to the next generation. To protect children, who are most vulnerable to the harms of PFAS, he suggests that women who plan to become pregnant treat their PFAS toxicity to avoid passing the chemicals to newborns.

Lindhardt said that some people with the greatest levels of blood PFAS might benefit from more than 12 weeks of treatment. More research is also needed to know if this approach is useful for people with lower exposures, too.

“It doesn’t make any sense trying to eliminate PFAS if you are continuously getting exposed to it in the drinking water,” Lindhardt said. “You should not see this as a method just to keep polluting. It’s actually a safety net underneath those who are still highly exposed.”

Related: Even Kale May Contain Toxic PFAS

Removing PFAS from the Environment Is Still the Priority

There’s some early evidence that protecting the gut and its microbiome could minimize the damage done by PFAS, Chatzi said. Animal studies show that eating a high-fiber diet could protect against the metabolic outcomes of PFAS exposure, like liver damage and heart disease.

“More research is needed on developing therapies to remove PFAS from the body to prevent further accumulation and reduce associated health risks,” Chatzi said. “But more importantly, all this knowledge needs to be translated into policy interventions that can help eliminate PFAS use and protect human health.”

The participants in Lindhardt’s study had high levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in their blood due to eating meat from cattle that fed in grassy areas where firefighters tested PFAS-containing foam.

The best way to avoid that kind of exposure is to clean up the environment and stop PFAS pollution, said Carsten Prasse, PhD, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Cleaning up waterways is an important first step in many communities, he said.

“More research is needed on developing therapies to remove PFAS from the body to prevent further accumulation and reduce associated health risks,” Prasse said. “But more importantly, all this knowledge needs to be translated into policy interventions that can help eliminate PFAS use and protect human health.”

The EPA recently proposed to categorize nine of these chemicals as hazardous, which could make it easier to regulate their production. Last year, a team of researchers at Northwestern University said that a common soap ingredient could break down PFAS in waterways in a matter of hours.

Read Next: Bottled Water Is Full of Tiny Plastics. Here's How to Make It Safer for Drinking

What This Means For You

While PFAS have been detected in nearly every American, not everyone should seek medical treatment. If you’re concerned about your level of PFAS toxicity, talk to a health provider about how to decrease your exposure and whether you qualify for blood testing.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.