Studies with animal models suggest that saturated fatty acids raise low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels by reducing LDL receptor-mediated clearance. To examine this directly in humans, we studied the effects of lowering dietary saturated fat on LDL-receptor abundance in peripheral mononuclear cells which reflects hepatic LDL-receptor status. Healthy males and females (n = 25) parti...

Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols, such as catechins and procyanidins, and has been shown in a variety of subject models to inhibit oxidized LDL and atherogenesis. Our study evaluated plasma LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL concentrations following the intake of different levels of cocoa powder (13, 19.5, and 26 g/d) in normocholesterolemic and mildly hypercholesterolemic humans. In this comp...

This editorial outlines the data supporting aggressive lipid goals and options for treating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to a range of approximately 30 to 70 mg/dl. The physiologically normal cholesterol range is approximately 30 to 70 mg/dl for native hunter-gatherers, healthy human neonates, free-living primates, and virtually all wild mammals. Randomized statin trials in patient...

The atherosclerotic lesion is characterized by the presence of cholesterol-loaded foam cells. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells do not normally store cholesteryl esters because low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors are suppressed by exposure of these cells to LDL cholesterol. We transfected LDL receptor cDNA linked to the simian virus 40 early promoter into CHO cells (CHO 29) and found that L...

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has recommended that dietary total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake be reduced to < or = 30% of calories, < 10% of calories, and < 300 mg/day, respectively (Step 1 diet) in the general population to reduce plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and heart disease risk. We examined the LDL cholesterol-lowering response t...

Diabetes has been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease in all populations studied. However, there is a lack of information on the relative importance of diabetes-associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially the role of lipid levels, because low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol often is not elevated in diabetic individuals. The objective of this analy...

Cholesteryl ester storage disease (CESD) is characterized by the deficient activity of lysosomal cholesteryl ester (CE) hydrolase, accumulation of LDL-derived CE in lysosomes, and hyperlipidemia. We studied the kinetics of VLDL and LDL apolipoprotein B (apoB), using 125I-VLDL and 131I-LDL, in a 9-yr-old female with CESD and elevated total cholesterol (TC) (271.0 +/- 4.4 mg/dl), triglyceride (TG...

OBJECTIVES A growing literature suggests that circulating cholesterol levels have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we investigated a possible causal basis for the cholesterol-PD link. METHODS Fasting plasma cholesterol levels were obtained from 91 PD and 70 age- and gender-matched controls from an NINDS PD Biomarkers Program cohort at the Pennsylvania State Univer...

The relationship between rates of hepatic sterol synthesis and rates of hepatic low density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake (clearance) was studied in animals with high (rats), low (female hamsters), and very low (male hamsters) basal rates of hepatic sterol synthesis. In rats and female hamsters, rates of hepatic sterol synthesis were varied over a 110-fold range by feeding cholesterol or cholestyram...

Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) is a multiligand cell-surface receptor that plays a central role in high density lipoprotein homeostasis in rodents. To investigate a role for SR-BI in atherosclerosis, mice with attenuated SR-BI expression were crossed with low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-deficient mice. Compound-homozygous mutants showed increased plasma cholesterol, surprisingly due prima...