Exploring the value of apoB48 as a marker for atherosclerosis in clinical practice
European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 06/26/2012
Clinical Article
Alipour A et al. – ApoB48 concentrations are highest in patients with familial combined hyperlipidaemia (FCH) and in atherosclerotic subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In patients not using statins, the surrogate atherosclerosis marker Intima–media thickness (IMT) correlates best with apoB48, suggesting that fasting apoB48 may help to detect subjects at risk.
Methods- Treated patients with FCH (18), FH (20), T2DM (26), CAD (65), T2DM with CAD (T2DM/CAD) (28) and 33 healthy controls were included.
- Intima–media thickness (IMT) measurements were carried out to investigate subclinical atherosclerosis.
- LDL–C and total apoB were lowest in patients with T2DM/CAD owing to the more frequent use of lipid–lowering medication.
- Fasting plasma apoB48 was elevated in patients with FCH (11.38 ± 1.50 mg/L) and T2DM/CAD (9.65 ± 1.14 mg/L) compared with the other groups (
anova , P < 0.01). - CAD patients (8.09 ± 0.57 mg/L) had higher apoB48 levels than controls (5.74 ± 0.55 mg/L) and FH patients (5.40 ± 0.51 mg/L) (P = 0.02).
- The lowest IMT was measured in controls (0.56 ± 0.02 mm) and FCH patients (0.60 ± 0.03 mm).
- In the total group, the best association for apoB48 was found with fasting triglyceride (Pearson's r = 0.72, P < 0.001).
- In the subjects not using statins (n = 74), the best correlation was found with IMT (r = 0.52; P < 0.001), whereas total apoB was not associated with IMT (r = 0.20, P = 0.12).
