A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug appears safe and effective for cutting cholesterol, possibly for life, according to a small early study released Saturday.

The study, which involved 15 volunteers, found one infusion of a drug that uses the CRISPR gene-editing technique could safely reduce cholesterol, as well as levels of harmful triglycerides, by about half.

"Rather than a lifetime worth of medicine, we have the potential to give people a cure," said Dr. Luke Laffin , a preventative cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who helped conduct the study. "It's very exciting."

The results of the study were presented Saturday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine .

If confirmed by future research,

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