Normal Cholesterol Values Research Articles

Awareness and knowledge of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia among Serbian pediatricians.

Published reports describing awareness and knowledge of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) among pediatricians are few and differ considerably across countries. We aimed to assess awareness and knowledge of the FH among pediatricians in Serbia. A web-based cross-sectional study using a self-designed questionnaire was conducted during the annual congress of the Serbian Association of Preventive Pediatrics in 2020. A total of 141 pediatricians completed the questionnaire (response rate 16.1%). Overall, 91% of participants have knowledge about genetic inheritance of FH, 84.3% were aware of long-term health risks of FH, 77% were familiar with normal cholesterol values in children and 71% knew the FH prevalence in the general population. On the other hand, only 36.8% declared that they were familiar with international guidelines for FH drug treatment and only 26.2% declared to have patients with FH. There is a substantial lack of practical clinical knowledge among Serbian pediatricians on managing children with FH. In addition, an extremely low questionnaire response rate (16.1%) suggests that most pediatricians are not aware of the clinical importance of FH in childhood.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia and hypercholesterolemia awareness: results from the Lookup 7+ online project.

BackgroundCardiovascular disease still represents the leading cause of death worldwide. Management of risk factors remains crucial; despite this, hypercholesterolemia, which is one of the most important modifiable cardiovascular risk factor, is still high prevalent in general population. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia and hypercholesterolemia awareness in a very large population.MethodsMore than 65 000 users completed the online, self-administered survey. It was structured like a ‘journey’ where each stage corresponded to a cardiovascular risk factor: blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol, diet, physical exercise, smoke and blood sugar. At the end, the user received a final evaluation of his health status.ResultsThe mean age was 52.5 years (SD 13.9, range 18–98), with 35 402 (53.7%) men. About 56% of all participants believed to have normal cholesterol values, when only 40% of them really showed values <200 mg/dl. Only about 30% of all participants self-predicted to have abnormal cholesterol values whereas we found high cholesterol levels in about 60% of people.ConclusionsDyslipidemia is very prevalent and half of the people with high cholesterol is not aware of having high values.

Serum acid sphingomyelinase is upregulated in chronic hepatitis C infection and non alcoholic fatty liver disease

Sphingolipids constitute bioactive molecules with functional implications in homeostasis and pathogenesis of various diseases. However, the role of sphingolipids as possible disease biomarkers in chronic liver disease remains largely unexplored. In the present study we used mass spectrometry and spectrofluorometry methods in order to quantify various sphingolipid metabolites and also assess the activity of an important corresponding regulating enzyme in the serum of 72 healthy volunteers as compared to 69 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and 69 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Our results reveal a significant upregulation of acid sphingomyelinase in the serum of patients with chronic liver disease as compared to healthy individuals (p<0.001). Especially in chronic hepatitis C infection acid sphingomyelinase activity correlated significantly with markers of hepatic injury (r=0.312, p=0.009) and showed a high discriminative power. Accumulation of various (dihydro-) ceramide species was identified in the serum of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (p<0.001) and correlated significantly to cholesterol (r=0.448, p<0.001) but showed a significant accumulation in patients with normal cholesterol values as well (p<0.001). Sphingosine, a further bioactive metabolite, was also upregulated in chronic liver disease (p<0.001). However, no significant correlation to markers of hepatic injury was identified. Conclusion: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induce a significant upregulation of serum acid sphingomyelinase which appears as a novel biomarker in chronic hepatopathies. Further studies are required to elucidate the potential of the sphingolipid signaling pathway as putative therapeutic target in chronic liver disease.

AB0388 Treat to target: normal cholesterol values in low disease activity established RA

BackgroundOver the past decades many reports have demonstrated the association between RA and dyslipidemia, the unfavourable lipid profiles having been observed >10 years before disease onset. Some have reported an...

Effect of cardiopulmonary bypass on plasma levels of lipoprotein (a) in hypercholesterolemic patients.

Increments of lipoprotein (a) (Lp (a)) concentration during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) have not been justified in the literature yet. We have investigated whether Lp (a) levels remain constant or increase during CPB and if high plasma levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL; containing apolipoprotein (apo) B) in hypercholesterolemic patients affect the assembly of Lp (a) (containing apoB: Apo (a)). In this study, the change in plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels of 40 patients with hypercholesterolemia and 40 patients who have normal cholesterol values were determined and compared during CPB, and in the postoperative early stage. In our study, lipid and lipoproteins, except Lp (a), showed a falling trend and paradoxically, Lp (a) statistically showed a significant rising trend, like the acute phase reactant in two groups (p=0.011 for LDL, p=0.016 for high density lipoprotein (HDL) and p<0.001 for the others, in 80 patients). Concentrations of Lp (a) in plasma increased more sharply in the hypercholesterolemic group than the normocholesterolemic group during CPB. This difference was significant at the 60th minute of cardiopulmonary bypass with a nonparametric test (p<0.05 Mann-Whitney U test). High density lipoprotein values showed more decline in the hypercholesterolemic group patients than in the normocholesterolemic group patients (p<0.05). In conclusion, lipoprotein (a) levels increased more pronounced in patients with hypercholesterolemia during CPB. On the other hand, high LDL levels in hypercholesterolemic patients accelerated Lp(a)formation in the acute phase.

Reversal of abnormal coronary vasomotion by calcium antagonists in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

It has been shown that exercise-induced coronary vasodilation of angiographically normal coronary vessels is reduced in hypercholesterolemic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of calcium channel blockers on coronary vasomotion of angiographically smooth coronary arteries in hypercholesterolemic patients. A total of 57 patients were included in the present analysis. Vasomotion of angiographically normal coronary arteries was evaluated in 37 control subjects (group 1) without and 20 patients (group 2) with calcium blocker administration before physical exercise. Both groups were subdivided into subgroup A (normal cholesterol values: < or = 5.5 mmol/L or 212 mg%) and subgroup B (elevated cholesterol values: >5.5 mmol/L or 212 mg%). Coronary luminal area at rest and during exercise was assessed by biplane quantitative coronary angiography. The normal vessels showed a significant increase in coronary luminal area during exercise in subgroup A (n=13) with normal cholesterol values (31%; P<.05) but not in subgroup B (n=24; 13%; P=NS). In contrast, all patients in group 2 showed similar vasodilation during exercise, namely, 22% (P<.05) in subgroups A (n=8) and B (n=12) (P<.05). Independent of the actual cholesterol level, the stenotic lesions showed coronary vasoconstriction during exercise in group 1 but vasodilation in group 2 after pretreatment with calcium antagonists. Coronary vasomotor response to exercise is inversely related to actual serum cholesterol level in angiographically normal vessels. Administration of calcium antagonists normalizes exercise-induced vasodilation and thus eliminates cholesterol-induced abnormal vasomotion, probably by a direct effect on the smooth muscles of the vasculature.

The prognostic significance of total serum cholesterol in patients with Hodgkin's disease

In the current retrospective study, the authors investigated the prognostic significance of total serum cholesterol values at the time of diagnosis in patients with Hodgkin's disease (n = 179). Cholesterol values were significantly lower in these patients than in age- and sex-matched controls. Subgroups with advanced stages (P less than or equal to 0.01), poor response to therapy (P = 0.04), and relapse after complete response (P = 0.026) (but not with bulky disease) had lower cholesterol values. By univariate analysis (cut-point value, 140 mg/dl), the 5-year survival rate was 2.5 times higher in patients with normal cholesterol values than in hypocholesterolemic patients (P less than 0.00009). Hypocholesterolemia was retained as an adverse, independent prognostic factor by multivariate Cox regression analysis. The authors concluded that total serum cholesterol values at the time of diagnosis may be a parameter with unrecognized significance in Hodgkin's disease.

Greenish-blue granular marrow histiocytes associated with low serum cholesterol.

PAS-positive greenish-blue granular histiocytes were observed in 16 of 500 consecutive bone marrow aspirates performed for various hematologic disorders. These cells resemble those first reported by Sawitsky and associates in what has been recently named the “syndrome of the sea-blue histiocyte.” Unlike previous investigators, we found the cells more frequently in men, associated with reduced serum cholesterol, and not associated with hepatosplenomegaly. Similar histiocytes were observed in patients with albinism with low serum cholesterol, while none were observed in patients with albinism with normal cholesterol values.

Effect of Aluminum Hydroxide Gels on Experimental Hypercholesterolemia and Atheromatosis in Chicks.

Summary1. As long as the diet was ingested the addition of 3% aluminum hydroxide gel did not prevent hypercholesterolemia or atheromatosis in cholesterol-fed chicks. Neither did such a diet result in inanition or paralysis. 2. Normal cholesterol values, inanition, and paralysis developed with rejection of the diet. The stress of inanition did not produce hypercholesterolemia in chicks. 3. Neither cortisone acetate nor boric acid influenced the development of arterial lesions, although the latter had some effect on lipid deposition.

Serum Lipids and Their Value in Diagnosis

Normocholesteremia and Foam-Cell Formation Increased xanthoma formation in essential xanthomatosis of the normocholesteremic type. This condition is synonymous with Schüller—Christian disease, lipid granulomatosis, eosinophilic granuloma and eosinophilic xanthomatous granuloma. Pinkus and Pick87 , 88 were the first to discover that the fat substances in the foam cells are cholesterol and cholesterol esters. These authors advanced the theory that cholesterol infiltration of certain cells takes place because of an increased cholesterol supply from the blood. In the syndrome under discussion, xanthoma-cell formation occurs without increased cholesterol supply from the blood — that is, with normal cholesterol values in the serum. Waldeyer66 has already . . .

XANTHOMA TUBEROSUM AND MYXEDEMA

As early as 1918 Luden 1 reported high cholesterol values, over 200 mg. per hundred cubic centimeters, in the blood of patients with myxedema. Mason, Hunt and Hurxthal, 2 studying the cholesterol content of the blood in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, observed that in hyperthyroidism there was no relation between the basal metabolic rate and the cholesterol content of the blood. However, they admitted that hyperthyroidism tends to diminish the blood cholesterol. In hypothyroidism they found an increase in the cholesterol content of the blood proportional to the decreased metabolic rate. They stated that true myxedema is accompanied by a high cholesterol content of the blood and that the cholesterol value is the important guide in the treating of patients with hypothyroidism. Low basal metabolic rates, without clinical evidence of myxedema, they noted, were accompanied by normal cholesterol values. Rowland, 3 in listing the lipid constituents of the blood,