Treatment of diabetic dyslipidaemia.

Lipid evaluation in a diabetic paticnt begins with averaging several measurements of blood sugar, total cholesterol. triacylglycerol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol after a 1 2 h fast. Patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes may have any one of several of lipid disorders [ 1 I, but typically diabetic dyslipidaemias share the characteristics of high very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels and low HDL cholesterol levcls [ 2 ] . Lipid disorders can be classified as in Table 1. Aggressive, appropriate treatment of thcse disorders may be crucial because of this population's increased risk of cardiovascular discasc. Diabetics may not respond to the usual diet and drug regimens useful in non-diabetics [3] (Table 2). This paper briefly outlines a treatmcnt approach to these disorders, including diet and drug therapy.