0000000000025859
AUTHOR
F. Polizzi
Low-density-lipoprotein peak particle size in a Mediterranean population
Background The predominance of small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles (‘LDL phenotype B’) has been associated with a three-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction, but the feasibility of the identification of small, dense LDL as independent predictors of coronary artery disease risk in population studies remains questioned. Design We evaluated the LDL peak particle size and its relation with other established risk factors for coronary heart disease in a group of 156 randomized subjects living on the Mediterranean island of Ustica (71 males and 85 women, range of age 20–69 years), representing approximately 30% of the total population. Results The prevalence of LDL phenoty…
Italian familial defective apolipoprotein B patients share a unique haplotype with other Caucasian patients.
Familial defective apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 together with familial hypercholesterolemia are the two common genetic conditions that cause hypercholesterolemia. Familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 is due to mutations around codon 3500 of the apo B gene. The most-characterized mutation is a G>A transition at nucleotide 10,708 that results in the substitution of arginine by glutamine at codon 3500 (Apo B Arg3500Gln). Two other mutations are caused by a C>T transition, one at nucleotide 10,800 (Apo B Arg3531Cys) and the other at nucleotide 10,707 (apo B Arg3500Trp). In the present study we describe three new Italian cases of familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 (Apo B Arg3500Gln), one f…
Distribution of risk factors, plasma lipids, lipoproteins and dyslipidemias in a small Mediterranean island: The Ustica Project
Background and Aim: The populations of the Mediterranean area have a low incidence of cardiovascular disease (CHD). The aims of this paper are: 1) to present demographic data of the population of Ustica, a small island in the southern part of the Tyrrhenian sea that has reduced communications with the mainland and a diet presumably rich in fish; and 2) to evaluate the distribution of risk fa tors, plasma lipids, lipoproteins and dyslipidemias in this population. Methods and Results: We invited all of the free-living resident population aged more than 14 years (about 800 individuals) to participate in the study; 57 responded, for a participation rate of about 73%. The distribution of cardiov…