About 100 genomes that are thought to regulate levels of cholesterol and the risk of coronary artery disease have been figured out by researchers.

The genetic basis of cholesterol levels in humans might come to light by these findings. They however state that it will take a lot of years for potential clinical applications to happen.

Study co-author Dr. Sekar Kathiresan of Harvard Medical School said, "There's convincing evidence that at least some of these will be useful on a clinical level.”

Cholesterol and triglycerides are the two lipids and they are known risk factors for heart disease. Genetic factors are responsible for about half of the variability in lipid levels.

Genomes for genetic differences were scanned of about 100,000 people their lipid levels were also measured. With differences in lipid levels at which tiny differences in genetic sequence, about 95 sites correlated.

Kathiresan said, "We have now a long list of genes that are relevant in people, and we think it's time to start trying to understand each of those. We think that some of these will in time turn out to be useful drug targets."