From the NLA President: An Exciting but Challenging Time

It is my privilege to serve as President of the NLA during this coming year. As is always the case, this is both an exciting but also a very challenging time. I would like to tell you about some of the programs and initiatives we are rolling out this year.

In September, we are convening a panel of 13 experts in Charlotte who will generate a consensus statement on Adiposity and Dyslipidemia. The panel will address issues of pathophysiology as well as assess the role/impact of lifestyle modification and the efficacy of pharmacologic intervention in managing this important area of lipidology. Given the negative results of such trials as AIM-HIGH and dal-OUTCOMES, the clinical impact of treating low serum levels of HDL cholesterol has been called into question. In January the NLA is bringing together an international panel of 16 experts in New York to produce a consensus paper on HDL. The document will help to define what we know about this lipoprotein both clinically and scientifically and will address unresolved issues and controversies.

The NLA will be rolling out a comprehensive slide library on HDL later this fall complete with case studies and speaker’s notes. A series of highly academic newsletters addressing controversial areas of HDL are in production, and will feature articles by Robert Brook, MD, Ben Ansell, MD, and Phillip Barter, MD, PhD, among others.

All of us have been awaiting the release of ATP IV. A number of committees have been formed to help the NLA respond as effectively as possible during the public commentary periods for each of the new guidelines to be issued by the NHLBI.

In the year ahead, you will see the emergence of a strong pediatrics section of the NLA. The members of this group are currently constructing a plan to help invigorate the NLA’s voice in the diagnosis and management of pediatric dyslipidemia. As the NLA Masters in Lipidology course is updated and revised, expect to see a lecture on pediatric lipidology introduced. A mentoring program for young lipidologists will also be rolled out later this year. A new committee is currently formulating plans to make this helpful and effective.

Outreach to other organizations continues. We will be meeting with representatives of the Preventive Cardiology Nurses Association this November to further explore ways we can work together. We continue to explore potential avenues to work with the American College of Cardiology and the American Academy of Osteopathic Family Physicians on educational programs.

The response of our membership to the 2012 Scientific Sessions was strongly positive. In the next two months, we will begin planning the Sessions for 2013 in Las Vegas. If you would like to recommend a topic and possible speaker, please e-mail me at peter.toth@cghmc.com. We have every intention of making next year’s meeting relevant, exciting, and better than the last!

We would like to continue to expand our membership. Introduce a friend to the NLA. If you stopped paying your dues, please take the time to reactivate your membership. Finally, remember to make a donation to the NLA Foundation, which has embarked on multiple programs of good works and deserves your financial support.