From the MWLA President: Branching Out: The Tree of Lipidology Continues to Grow

While expertise in lipids management has evolved over many decades, our field of lipidology truly took flight in 2006 with the American Board of Clinical Lipidology certification process. Since those early days, we have slowly but steadily raised awareness of the value of the care we provide as lipid specialists. It is likely that each and every one of you has had to explain what a lipid specialist is, or does, more than once in your career. While our role in treating lipid disorders is clear to most, it is much more difficult to detail the many ways that we provide expertise beyond the lipid particle or the cardiovascular tree. This edition of the LipidSpin sheds light on the expanding role we enjoy as lipid specialists, from the increasingly common cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to the less common secondary dyslipidemia of paraproteinemias or the rare condition of mucopolysaccharidoses. Our breadth of knowledge continues to widen.

While the public often thinks of high cholesterol as a problem of adulthood, we know that is far from the truth. We welcome our pediatric lipid colleagues to the National Lipid Association membership in growing numbers. Their experiences with the struggles in managing inborn errors of metabolism, such as Morquio Syndrome and Fabry’s Disease, give our field important depth and perspective as we look to the future of potential enzyme replacement therapies.  

Far more common is the struggle with early insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in children (and adults). While the definition of pediatric metabolic syndrome may
be cloudy, our experiences across the age spectrum teach us more and more about the pathophysiology and potential prevention and treatment options. We are certainly entering a new era in the understanding of insulin resistance and the interplay with postprandial dysmetabolism, as so thoroughly discussed in this edition. This insight brings new opportunities for risk identification and primordial prevention.  

We also see a growing toolbox of medication options for lipid specialists. The Lipid Luminations review in this edition turns our attention to the potential utility of SGLT2 inhibitors in risk reduction.      

Lipidology looks like a very different field than when I first joined the ranks in 2006. As our field grows wider and deeper, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.  Thank you for taking the time to explore this edition of LipidSpin and for helping this dynamic field grow and thrive!