Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Both Diabetes and Phenotypic Familial Hypercholesterolemia: A Nationwide Register-Based Cohort Study

Predictors of cardiovascular risk in familial hypercholesterolemia

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Familial Hypercholesterolemia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The current international guidelines of the main scientific societies consider that all people with familial hypercholesterolemia have a high or very high cardiovascular risk. However, the occurrence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is very heterogeneous in this population. Stratifying risk within people with familial hypercholesterolemia is essential to identify individuals who require intensive cholesterol-lowering therapies.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the last year, several studies have been published focusing on the contribution of diabetes to familial hypercholesterolemia, the role of stroke, as a manifestation of atherosclerotic disease, and the external validation of the SAFEHEART risk equation in the English population diagnosed with Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

SUMMARY

It is necessary the development of a tool that allows us to identify, in a simple, reproducible, and universal way, patients who may have a high risk of suffering a cardiovascular event and who are susceptible to more intensive treatments to reduce cholesterol levels.

Interaction Between Primary Hyperlipidemias and Type 2 Diabetes: Therapeutic Implications

There is a gap of knowledge about the clinical and pathophysiological implications resulting from the interaction between primary hyperlipidemias and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Most of the existing evidence comes from sub-analyses of cohorts; scant information derives from randomized clinical trials. The expected clinical implications of T2D in patients with primary hyperlipidemias is an escalation of their already high cardiovascular risk. There is a need to accurately identify patients with this dual burden and to adequately prescribe lipid-lowering therapies, with the current advancements in newer therapeutic options. This review provides an update on the interactions of primary hyperlipidemias, such as familial combined hyperlipidemia, familial hypercholesterolemia, multifactorial chylomicronemia, lipoprotein (a), and type 2 diabetes.

Established and Emerging Nucleic Acid Therapies for Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disease that leads to elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and risk of coronary heart disease. Current therapeutic options for FH remain relatively limited and only partially effective in both lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and modifying coronary heart disease risk. The unique characteristics of nucleic acid therapies to target the underlying cause of the disease can offer solutions unachievable with conventional medications. DNA- and RNA-based therapeutics have the potential to transform the care of patients with FH. Recent advances are overcoming obstacles to clinical translation of nucleic acid-based medications, including greater stability of the formulations as well as site-specific delivery, making gene-based therapy for FH an alternative approach for treatment of FH.

Familial hypercholesterolemia-Plus: is the metabolic syndrome changing the clinical picture of familial hypercholesterolemia?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review article was to describe recent advances in our knowledge about how diabetes and metabolic syndrome are changing the face of familial hypercholesterolemia.

RECENT FINDINGS

Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, most commonly caused by disruption to LDL receptor function, leads to lifelong elevation of LDL cholesterol and increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Familial hypercholesterolemia was originally described as a form of 'pure' hypercholesterolemia, in the sense that levels of LDL were uniquely affected. Studies of familial hypercholesterolemia among individuals of predominantly Western European descent conformed to the perception that individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia tended to be lean and otherwise metabolically healthy. More recently, as we have studied familial hypercholesterolemia in more diverse global populations, we have learned that in some regions, rates of diabetes and obesity among familial hypercholesterolemia patients are very high, mirroring the global increases in the prevalence of metabolic disease.

SUMMARY

When diabetes and metabolic disease coexist, they amplify the cardiovascular risk in familial hypercholesterolemia, and may require more aggressive treatment.

Targeted delivery of MerTK protein via cell membrane engineered nanoparticle enhances efferocytosis and attenuates atherosclerosis in diabetic ApoE-/- Mice

BACKGROUND

Clearance of apoptotic cells by efferocytosis is crucial for prevention of atherosclerosis progress, and impaired efferocytosis contributes to the aggravated atherosclerosis.

RESULTS

In this study, we found that diabetic ApoE-/- mice showed aggravated atherosclerosis as hyperglycemia damaged the efferocytosis capacity at least partially due to decreased expression of Mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK) on macrophages. To locally restore MerTK in the macrophages in the plaque, hybrid membrane nanovesicles (HMNVs) were thus developed. Briefly, cell membrane from MerTK overexpressing RAW264.7 cell and transferrin receptor (TfR) overexpressing HEK293T cell were mixed with DOPE polymers to produce nanovesicles designated as HMNVs. HMNVs could fuse with the recipient cell membrane and thus increased MerTK in diabetic macrophages, which in turn restored the efferocytosis capacity. Upon intravenous administration into diabetic ApoE-/- mice, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SMN) decorated HMNVs accumulated at the aorta site significantly under magnetic navigation, where the recipient macrophages cleared the apoptotic cells efficiently and thus decreased the inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

 Our study indicates that MerTK decrease in macrophages contributes to the aggravated atherosclerosis in diabetic ApoE-/- mice and regional restoration of MerTK in macrophages of the plaque via HMNVs could be a promising therapeutic approach.

Predictors of cardiovascular risk in familial hypercholesterolemia

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Familial hypercholesterolemia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The current international guidelines of the main scientific societies consider that, all people with Familial Hypercholesterolemia have a high or very high cardiovascular risk. However, the occurrence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is very heterogeneous in this population. Stratifying risk within people with familial hypercholesterolemia is essential to identify individuals who require intensive cholesterol-lowering therapies.

RECENT FINDINGS

In the last year, several studies have been published focusing on the contribution of diabetes to Familial Hypercholesterolemia, the role of stroke, as a manifestation of atherosclerotic disease, and the external validation of the SAFEHEART risk equation in the English population diagnosed with Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

SUMMARY

It is necessary the development of a tool that allows us to identify, in a simple, reproducible, and universal way, patients who may have a high risk of suffering a cardiovascular event and who are susceptible to more intensive treatments to reduce cholesterol levels.

Prevalence of Diabetes and Its Association with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia: An Analysis from the Hellenic Familial Hypercholesterolemia Registry (HELLAS-FH)

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are both associated with a high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Little is known about the prevalence of T2DM and its association with ASCVD risk in FH patients. This was a cross-sectional analysis from the Hellenic Familial Hypercholesterolemia Registry (HELLAS-FH) including adults with FH (n = 1719, mean age 51.3 ± 14.6 years). Of FH patients, 7.2% had a diagnosis of T2DM. The prevalence of ASCVD, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke was higher among subjects with T2DM compared with those without (55.3% vs. 23.3%, 48.8% vs. 20.7%, 8.3% vs. 2.7%, respectively, p < 0.001). When adjusted for age, systolic blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, hypertension, waist circumference, triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and gender, T2DM was significantly associated with prevalent ASCVD [OR 2.0 (95% CI 1.2−3.3), p = 0.004]. FH patients with T2DM were more likely to have undergone coronary revascularization than those without (14.2% vs. 4.5% for coronary artery bypass graft, and 23.9% vs. 11.5% for percutaneous coronary intervention, p < 0.001). T2DM is associated with an increased risk for prevalent ASCVD in subjects with FH. This may have implications for risk stratification and treatment intensity in these patients.