Effects of probucol on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in familial hypercholesterolemic patients with and without apolipoprotein E4

Abstract

It has been reported that total cholesterol (Chol) response to probucol is greater in familial hypercholesterolemic (FH) patients with apo E4 than in those without apo E4. We further examined the effect of probucol on plasma triglyceride (TG) and lipoprotein-Chol levels as well as total Chol levels in heterozygous FH patients with apo E4 ( n = 14 for apo E4/3, n = 1 for apo E4/4) and without apo E4 ( n = 31 for apo E3/3). Probucol was administered in a dosage of 500 mg twice daily for 3 months. The reduction in total Chol levels was significantly greater in FH patients with apo E4 ( −90 mg/dl, − 27.5 %) than in those without apo E4 (− 41 mg/dl, − 13.7%). The reduction in low density lipoprotein (LDL)-Chol levels was also significantly greater in FH patients with apo E4 (− 73 mg/dl vs. − 34 mg/dl). There was a significant difference in the change in TG and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-Chol levels with treatment between the FH patients with apo E4 (− 37 and − 8 mg/dl, respectively) and without apo E4 ( + 8 and + 2 mg/dl, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the reduction in HDL-Chol levels between the 2 groups ( − 9 mg/dl vs. − 9 mg/dl). It is concluded that FH patients with apo E4 showed the greater reduction in plasma TG levels as well as total Chol levels with probucol treatment than those without apo E4, and that the greater reduction in total Chol levels in them, as reported previously, was mainly due to the greater reduction in LDL-Chol levels and slightly due to that in VLDL-Chol levels.