Type 2 diabetics with low cholesterol may carry residual risk of cardiac events

LipoScience, Inc., an in-vitro diagnostic company advancing patient care in cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases using an innovative and proprietary platform based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, recognizes a presentation of clinical data which suggests that type 2 diabetics with low non-HDL and low LDL cholesterol may carry residual risk of a cardiac event based on high LDL particle numbers. The data was presented at the 2011 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, now underway in Orlando, Florida.

Researchers evaluated 1,970 type 2 diabetics with low non-HDL cholesterol levels and observed that 25 percent of these patients had an LDL particle number (LDL-P) over 1,000 nmol/L, considered to be elevated. In the study, LDL-P was measured using LipoScience's NMR LipoProfile^® test. Of the patients that had low LDL-C concentrations, normal triglyceride and HDL-C levels, 14 percent had an elevated LDL particle number. The authors conclude that the subset of patients with very low LDL-C or non-HDL-C and high LDL-P levels may still carry residual risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). They also suggest that using LDL-P values to gauge the adequacy of LDL lowering may be a more effective approach to optimize management of diabetic and other high-risk patients.

"A growing body of clinical research and expert opinions suggests that for patients at intermediate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease, including type 2 diabetics, LDL particle number is more closely associated with cardiac events than LDL and non HDL-cholesterol," said Hector Malave, M.D., a practicing cardiologist in Atlanta and investigator in this study. "Using LDL particle number may allow for optimal management of LDL-associated CVD risk in this patient population."

A panel of experts in the field of clinical lipidology, convened by the National Lipid Association, published a consensus statement in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology which states that the use of LDL particle number is reasonable for initial clinical risk assessment and on-treatment management of cardiovascular disease for many patient populations, including those to be considered at intermediate risk.

In March 2011, clinical data was published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology suggesting that in many people, LDL cholesterol is a less accurate predictor of cardiovascular disease events than LDL particle number.

In 2008, the American College of Cardiology and American Diabetes Association jointly issued a consensus statement recognizing that "even with adequate cholesterol lowering, many patients on statin therapy have significant cardiovascular disease risk" and "many cross-sectional and prospective studies show that particle number is a better discriminator of risk than cholesterol."

LDL particle levels were measured using LipoScience's NMR LipoProfile test, a laboratory test that utilizes nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure LDL and other lipoprotein particles. LDL particle information can help clinicians personalize and refine LDL management decisions, particularly to minimize residual risk in patients with low LDL cholesterol levels.

Source: LipoScience, Inc.