9 Hormones and lipoprotein metabolism

Abstract

The influence of hormones on lipoprotein metabolism is of major clinical interest for three main reasons. First, abnormalities of hormone secretion and/or actions (e.g. insulin) may participate in the pathophysiology of lipoprotein aberrations and possibly the atherogenic risk accompanying common medical disorders such as endogenous hypertriglyceridaemia, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. Second, hormones are important regulators of fuel and substrate partitioning, in response to the physiological adaptations of fasting and feeding (e. g. insulin and glucagon), growth and development (e.g. growth hormone and thyroxin), pregnancy and lactation (e.g. gonadal steroids and prolactin), and physical or mental stress (e.g. catecholamines and glucocorticoids) and their prolonged overor undersecretion could induce persistent abnormalities in lipoprotein metabolism. Third, hormonal preparations and their derivatives (e.g. gonadal steroids, glucocorticoids and adrenergic antagonists) are prescribed for the management of a wide variety of medical conditions, and their long-term use might be attended by deleterious changes in lipoprotein metabolism.