0000000000004263
AUTHOR
Giuseppe Danilo Norata
Homozygous familial hypobetalipoproteinemia: two novel mutations in the splicing sites of apolipoprotein B gene and review of the literature.
Objective: Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) is autosomal codominant disorder of lipoprotein metabolism characterized by low plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteincholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) below the 5 th percentile of the distribution in the population. Patients with the clinical diagnosis of homozygous FHBL (Ho-FHBL) are extremely rare and few patients have been characterized at the molecular level. Here we report the medical history and the molecular characterization of one paediatric patient with clinical features of Ho-FHBL. Methods: A one month old infant with failure to thrive, severe hypocholesterolemia and acanthocytosis was clin…
Effects of PCSK9 variants on common carotid artery intima media thickness and relation to ApoE alleles.
BACKGROUND: PCSK9 plays a key role in plasma cholesterol metabolism by modulating the expression of LDL receptors. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In this study we investigated the effects of two common polymorphism of the PCSK9 gene (E670G and I474V) on the intima media thickness of the common carotid artery and the possible relation with polymorphisms of apolipoprotein E in 1541 middle aged subjects selected from the general population enrolled in the PLIC study and confirmed the major findings in a second free-living population enrolled in the Ventimiglia study. RESULTS: 670G carriers showed significantly increased plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and Apo levels B while no significant d…
Effect of the -420C/G variant of the resistin gene promoter on metabolic syndrome, obesity, myocardial infarction and kidney dysfunction.
. Objective. Resistin is an adipokine that has been suggested to be correlated with markers of inflammation and to be predictive of coronary atherosclerosis and type II diabetes in humans. A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (−420C/G) in the promoter of resistin is associated with increased resistin plasma levels and susceptibility to type II diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the -420C/G polymorphism with metabolic syndrome, obesity, myocardial infarction and kidney disease. Design and results. First we studied 1542 subjects from the PLIC study (a population based cohort). GG carriers showed an higher prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndro…
Genetically determined hypercholesterolaemia results into premature leucocyte telomere length shortening and reduced haematopoietic precursors
Abstract Aims Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is a marker of cellular senescence and associates with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A number of cardiovascular risk factors affect LTL, but the correlation between elevated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and shorter LTL is debated: in small cohorts including subjects with a clinical diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). We assessed the relationship between LDL-C and LTL in subjects with genetic familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) compared to those with clinically diagnosed, but not genetically confirmed FH (CD-FH), and normocholesterolaemic subjects. Methods and results LTL was measured in mononuclear cells-d…
Predictive value for cardiovascular events of common carotid intima media thickness and its rate of change in individuals at high cardiovascular risk – Results from the PROG-IMT collaboration
AIMS: Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) predicts cardiovascular (CVD) events, but the predictive value of CIMT change is debated. We assessed the relation between CIMT change and events in individuals at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 31 cohorts with two CIMT scans (total n = 89070) on average 3.6 years apart and clinical follow-up, subcohorts were drawn: (A) individuals with at least 3 cardiovascular risk factors without previous CVD events, (B) individuals with carotid plaques without previous CVD events, and (C) individuals with previous CVD events. Cox regression models were fit to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of the combined endpoint (myocardial infarction, s…