NLA Guidelines, Recommendations and Statements

https://www.lipid.org/nla/national-lipid-association-releases-draft-part-two-its-recommendations-patient-centeredThe NLA Recommendations for Patient-Centered Management of Dyslipidemia, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, re-affirm the importance of cholesterol goals for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. The recommendations should serve as guidance to clinicians for treating patients with dyslipidemia.

On June 3, 2015, the anticipated final results of the IMProved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial (IMPROVE-IT) was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 2015;372:2387-97).

The National Lipid Association (NLA) recently convened an Expert Panel on Statin Safety to examine various aspects of statin therapy and to determine its safety, patient tolerance and effectiveness.

Excessive body fat and its metabolic consequences are worldwide epidemics. In the United States alone, more than two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. The adverse health consequences of excessive body fat is especially correlated to the dysfunctional deposition of adipose tissue, in that abdominal adiposity measures are directly and significantly associated with mortality.

On March 9, 2013, HPS2-THRIVE results were presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in San Francisco, after which the presenting author concluded “we now know that [niacin’s] adverse side effects outweigh the benefits when used with current treatments.” The National Lipid Association (NLA) is concerned that this very broad study interpretation does not give adequate consideration to two sharply limiting factors in the trial: 1) niacin was clinically irrelevant in the average study subject, and 2) there was substantial subgroup heterogeneity.

The development of dalcetrapib, a cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, was terminated on May 6, 2012 by Hoffmann-La Roche (Genentech) after its Phase III dal-OUTCOMES trial in acute coronary syndrome patients failed to demonstrate a significant reduction in cardiovascular adverse events.¹ In contrast to the earlier CETP inhibitor, torcetrapib, no safety concerns were reported.

In response to Department of Health and Human Services Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0400 and Docket No. FSIS-2011-0014, the NLA Dietician Task Force prepared the attached response regarding Approaches to Reducing Sodium Consumption; Establishment of Dockets; Request for Comments, Data, and Information. The link above provides the statement of the NLA Dietician
Task Force.

The NLA held a consensus conference in January 2011 to bring together experts on inflammatory markers and advanced lipoprotein testing for the generation of an NLA statement of clinical guidance regarding the utility of various biomarkers. The panel reviewed apolipoprotein B (Apo B), C-reactive protein (CRP), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) subfractions, low-density lipoprotein particle number/concentration (LDL-P), and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)).

Adapted from an article in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology (JCL) titled, The Importance of Non-HDL Cholesterol Reporting in Lipid Management¹

On May 26, 2011, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) formally ended the Atherothrombosis Intervention in Metabolic Syndrome with Low HDL/High Triglycerides: Impact on Global Health (AIM-HIGH) trial earlier than expected due to futility. The National Lipid Association would like to provide additional commentary to our members.