Blocking a key enzyme in the body's cholesterol factory can lower cholesterol, even in people with a genetic condition that causes high cholesterol. A natural substance called compactin can do this job very effectively.

The liver makes cholesterol using a key enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase, and if we block that enzyme, it lowers the 'bad' cholesterol in your blood.

A type of drug that lowers cholesterol works well in lab tests, but high doses can be toxic in animals, which might slow down its use in people.

Inhibition of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase reduces circulating LDL cholesterol by decreasing endogenous cholesterol synthesis and upregulating hepatic LDL receptor expression.

The first statin drug, called compactin, was found in a type of mold and works by strongly blocking a key enzyme our bodies use to make cholesterol — and it does this at super low doses, even in people with a genetic form of high cholesterol.

These two compounds seem to specifically target one key enzyme that makes cholesterol, without messing with the other parts of the process — at least in lab tests.