From the LipidSpin Editor: Looking Back, Moving Forward

It is a great time to be a clinical lipidologist and I want to thank all of the readers for a wonderful year as co-editor of LipidSpin! It has been the year of the PCSK9 inhibitor introduction and that has captured everyone’s attention. But that is not all that is going on in clinical lipidology; our field is rolling and we have tried to cover as much of it as possible in the LipidSpin this past year.

Since our last Potpourri issue, we have covered primary prevention, lipid specialty care, guidelines, unusual dyslipidemias, and lipid myths.

Our LipidSpin predecessors, Robert Wild, MD, and Jamie Underberg, MD, congratulated the NLA last year for devoting their efforts to special populations, and then called for authors to address this further. Right on cue, our next edition on primary prevention was devoted to gender specific management, metabolic syndrome in youth, and elderly care.

We reminded our colleagues that clinical lipidologists offer an important expertise, and thus, we were updated on PCSK9 inhibitors, CETP inhibitors, myopathy, and the unusual presentation of tuberous xanthomae.

We devoted an entire issue to the importance of guidelines and learned how to meld public health standards with a personalized medicine approach to care.

More focused attention to very special circumstances followed in the unusual dyslipidemia issue. We saw articles on an unusual response to a very low carbohydrate diet, reviews on sitosterolemia and LAL- deficiency, and then a case of red yeast rice associated myopathy.

Our last completed issue on lipid myths was particularly well received. We got the big picture on HDL and insulin, reviews of chelation therapy, coconut oil, butter vs. margarine, and summaries on major nutrition topics and dietary supplements. I have never felt as well prepared for the cocktail party conversations as I did after reading that issue.

I hope you enjoy this Potpourri issue of the LipidSpin. This is a great time to recognize what our colleagues are thinking about. We included articles on PCSK9 inhibitors, causes of secondary hyperlipidemia, measuring low LDL-C levels, coronary artery calcium scoring, fish oil, red yeast rice, CETP inhibitors, treating the elderly, pseudyhypertriglyceridemia, and the finding of a very specific FH founder effect in Pennsylvania Amish.

In fact, every issue is a bit of a potpourri meant to reflect the thoughts and character of the NLA membership. We have had contributions from seasoned veterans, young trainees, nutritionists, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, young, and old. I feel thankful to have the opportunity to co-edit the issues with Joseph Saseen, PharmD, the Publications Committee members who act as peer reviewers, and of course the chapter presidents who carry the reigns for each issue.

Melissa Heyboer, the NLA Communications Manager, keeps us all in line, on time, and well organized. Her attention and care has made this job truly a joy. I look forward to every submission and every issue; and I look forward to our second year with this LipidSpin team.