Potpourri 2014 LipidSpin Articles | National Lipid Association Online

Matthew K. Ito, PharmD, CLS, FNLA	From the NLA President: Update on NLA Initiatives I'm happy to give you an update on an important initiative the NLA and its partners are pursuing to kick off 2014. Just more than a month ago the National Lipid Association submitted a proposal to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the federal agency responsible for revising the ICD codes, to create new, specific ICD-10 codes for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). This includes homozygous FH and heterozygous FH. The NLA worked collaboratively with The FH Foundation... more
JAMES A. UNDERBERG, MD, MS, FACPM, FACP, FNLA	Letter From the Lipid Spin Editor: Lipidology is not "Other-ology" - Can Social Media Help? The field of Clinical Lipidology is growing slowly. Each year new members of the National Lipid Association are approved, and every year some of them choose to pursue training and certification pathways via the ACCL and ABCL. Many of our members have an interest in lipidology, but may spend most of their time in other specialties such as Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Family Practice, Endocrinology, Pediatrics, Ob/GYN or Osteopathy just to name a few. Others practice Lipidology as their... more
ROBERT A. WILD, MD, PhD, MPH, FNLA	Letter From the Lipid Spin Editor: Potpourri Potpourri /,pou pu’ri:/ is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material, used to provide a gentle natural scent inside buildings, most commonly in residential settings. It is usually placed in a decorative (often wooden) bowl, or tied in a small sachet made from sheer fabric. Potpourri is used inside the home to give the air a pleasant smell. The word "potpourri" comes into English from the French word "pot-pourri." The French term has two... more
IAN HAMILTON-CRAIG, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FCANZ, FLS CHRYS MICHAELIDES, MBBS, (Qld) FRANK M. VAN BOCKXMEER, PhD, MHGSA, FFSc(RCPA), FAHA KARAM M. KOSTNER, MD, PhD, FRACP, FCSANZ	Current Initiatives for Detecting Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Primary Care Abstract Databases of primary care practices and pathology providers in Queensland and South Australia were screened using variable cut-off levels for total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to detect patients with possible familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Over a 12- month period, 1,728,805 lipid tests were performed in the Queensland population of 4,332,739. Of these, 52.4% included LDL-C measurement. The proportion of the... more
WILLIAM S. HARRIS, PhD, FNLA	Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer - A Study "Spun" Out of Control The report by Brasky, et al., in the J Natl Cancer Institute titled, "Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk in the SELECT Trial"¹ attracted widespread media attention. It reported that higher baseline levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the plasma phospholipid fraction were associated with a significantly increased risk for prostate cancer over 9 years. The authors wrote, "The consistency of these findings suggests that these fatty... more
PREMCHAND ANNE, MD, MPH, FACC JAMES J. MACIEJKO, MS, PhD, FACC	Heterozygous Familial Hypobetalipoproteinemia: Case Study and Literature Review A 12-year-old male was referred to our Pediatric Lipid Clinic by his pediatrician for evaluation of a low total cholesterol level. A fasting lipid profile noted the following; total cholesterol (TC): 84 mg/dL, triglyceride: 50 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C): 47 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C): 27 mg/dL and apolipoprotein B (apo B): 24 mg/dL. His medical history is remarkable for Attention Deficit Disorder, seasonal allergies, vitamin D insufficiency... more
OM P. GANDA, MD	Effects of Post-Transplant Drugs on Lipids and Treatment Options Epidemiology The ever- increasing population of patients living after organ transplantation has added an important dimension to the specific management needs of these patients. One major area in this regard pertains to the effects of post-transplant immunosuppressive drugs on lipids and lipoproteins. In addition, a number of agents in this expanding arena cause several metabolic perturbations that lead to development of new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT... more
EDWARD SHAHADY, MD, FAAFP	Use of a Disease Registry and Primary Care Office Teams to Improve Lipid Goal Achievement in Patients with Diabetes Introduction Most diabetes care occurs in a primary care setting. Standards of diabetes care from several professional organizations include setting specific lipid goals for diabetic patients. Recommendations include medication and lifestyle changes to achieve lipid and glucose goals. Several studies indicate that about 50% of patients with diabetes achieve their goals and far fewer achieve all of their goals at the same time.^7,8,9Addressing these gaps in... more
W.E. FEEMAN Jr., MD	Impact of Change in HDL Measurement Technology on the Prediction Atherothrombotic Disease Risk Science occasionally achieves knowledge by a giant leap into the unknown, but it more often does so by the continuous accumulation of knowledge in a layeron- layer effect, similar to the layering of sediments in a lake bed. As Isaac Newton once remarked, "If I have seen a little farther, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." So it is with the fields of lipidology and preventive cardiology. The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) led the way in identifying risk factors... more
DON P. WILSON, MD, FNLA CATHERINE MCNEAL, MD, PhD, FNLA	Pregnancy and Perinatal-Related Determinates of Childhood Cardiovascular Disease Risk Case Presentation A 10-year-old girl was referred for elevated cholesterol. Her laboratory findings showed a total cholesterol (TC) of 364 mg/ dL, triglyceride (Tg) 65 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) 45 mg/dL, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) 300 mg/dL. She had a prior history of obesity with a body mass index (BMI) >95th %, but was otherwise healthy. ... more
JACK DUSHEY, MD	Type III Apo E2/2 Dysbetalipoproteinemia Presenting with Rectal Hemorrhaging from Ischemic Colitis A 64-year-old woman was hospitalized with abdominal pain and gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhaging. She was severely anemic with marked elevation of both cholesterol and triglycerides. The patient was transfused. Colonoscopy revealed severe right-sided ischemic colitis. A two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiogram was normal and telemetry showed no arrhythmia. An aortogram did not show the cause of interruption of mesenteric blood flow to the colon, although irregularity and 50% stenosis of the... more
THOMAS RHYNE WHITE, MD, FNLA	Firefighters and CVD: Heroes with Hearts at Risk Background There are more than one million firefighters in the United States. Excluding the tragic loss of 342 firefighters in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, approximately 100 firefighters die in the line of duty (LOD) each year in the United States.¹ However, direct fire injury is not – as might be expected - the leading cause of such deaths. In fact, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of LOD deaths among firefighters,... more
Foundation of NLA Annual Report	Foundation of the NLA 2013 Annual Report ... more