Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in a global scale and significantly depends on the elevated plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and the subsequent formation of atherosclerotic plaques. While physicians have several LDL-C-lowering agents with diverse mechanisms of action, including statins, ezetimibe, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors and inclisiran, angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) inhibitors have recently emerged as a powerful addition in the armamentarium of lipid-lowering strategies, especially for patients with refractory hypercholesterolemia, as in the case of patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). ANGPTL3 protein is a glycoprotein secreted by liver cells that is implicated in the metabolism of lipids along with other ANGPTL proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular disease (CVD) represents the leading cause of death worldwide. The role of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and CVD has been well recognized. Statins are the standard of care for the management of hypercholesterolaemia, and their effectiveness in lowering LDL-C and reducing CVD risk in both primary and secondary prevention has been well established.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Currently, it has been recognized that High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) functionality plays a much more essential role in protection from atherosclerosis than circulating HDLcholesterol (HDL-C) levels per se. Cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) from macrophages to HDL has been shown to be a key metric of HDL functionality. Thus, quantitative assessment of CEC may be an important tool for the evaluation of HDL functionality, as improvement of HDL function may lead to a reduction of the risk for Cardiovascular disease (CVD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Hypercholesterolemia has been shown to be one of the most important risk factors for CVD. Statins are currently the standard of care for the management of hypercholesterolemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current era of preventive cardiology continues to emphasize on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction to alleviate the burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). In this regard, the pharmacological inhibition of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) enzyme via monoclonal antibodies has emerged as a novel lipid-lowering therapy, leading to a marked reduction in circulating LDL-C levels and subsequent improvement of cardiovascular outcomes. As these agents are increasingly used in current clinical practice, mounting scientific and clinical evidence supports that PCSK9 inhibitors offer an excellent safety and tolerability profile with a low incidence of adverse events.
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