Heart Disease Marker Apolipoprotein B

Heart Disease Marker Apolipoprotein B

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Date: October 15, 2007

Improving The Assessment Of Coronary Heart Disease Risk In Chinese
Science Daily - Scientists report that the concentration of a compound
called apolipoprotein B in the blood is better at predicting whether
Chinese have coronary heart disease -- in which fatty deposits clog
arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart -- than other
substances such as blood cholesterol levels. This finding could help
improve the diagnostic and treatment of coronary heart disease in
Chinese and maybe in other populations as well.
To diagnose the early stages of coronary heart disease, physicians
usually measure levels of substances present in the blood, such as
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B, which
act as "markers" of the disease. But these markers are not very
accurate and whether some of them are better at predicting the onset
of the disease is not clear yet.

Kuo-Liong Chien, Yuan-Teh Lee and colleagues compared the levels of
the markers in over 3,500 participants who did not have the disease at
the time of recruitment but some of whom (122 individuals) developed
the disease 13 years later. The scientists then compared which of the
three substances would have best predicted the onset of the disease
and found that the risk of developing coronary heart disease was more
than three times as high in participants with the highest values of
both apolipoprotein B and the ratio of the total cholesterol over HDL-
C than patients who did not have the disease.

The scientists conclude that apolipoprotein B is more strongly
associated than LDL-C with the risk of developing coronary heart
disease. They add that non-HDL cholesterol is an important predictive
factor for CHD among Chinese, more so than LDL cholesterol and that
the ratio of total cholesterol over HDL cholesterol can strongly
predict coronary heart disease.

Based on these results, the researchers recommend that apolipoprotein
B should be included in the comprehensive evaluation of risk for this
disease in Asian populations.

Article: "Apoliporotein B and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
and risk of coronary heart disease in Chinese," by Kuo-Liong Chien,
Hsiu-Ching Hsu, Ta-Chen Su, Ming-Fong Chen, Yuan-Teh Lee, and Frank B.
HuNovember 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research (Vol. 48, No.
11)

Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.


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