Lowering cholesterol is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of heart disease, and it may soon be possible to get a one-and-done gene therapy to keep cholesterol and triglyceride levels down throughout your lifetime.

That’s the hope of a small new study led by Dr. Luke Laffin, a preventive cardiologist in the department of cardiovascular medicine at Cleveland Clinic, and senior investigator Dr. Steven Nissen, chair of cardiovascular medicine at Cleveland Clinic. In the trial, 15 people received the innovative gene therapy. All of the patients had high cholesterol, high triglycerides, or both, despite being treated with currently available medications, including statins. They received a one-time infusion of a CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy designed by CRISPR Therapeutics,

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