Diabetes is common in the Rio Grande Valley, and doctors say that puts people at higher risk of having high cholesterol.

The FDA approved a pill, called Lipfendra, which helps the liver remove bad cholesterol from the blood. At first, the medicine was available as an injection but has recently been made available in pill form.

"For our people here at the Valley, it may also work out to be a little bit cheaper. The injections were fairly expensive and you know sometimes affordability can be an issue. And being relatively cheaper compared to those, it may be more accessible to more people, and that is a big plus for us," Valley Baptist Harlingen Cariologist Dr. Kamesh "Siv" Sivagnanam said.

Researchers say the pill can reduce bad cholesterol by about 60 percent.