High prevalence of primary dyslipidaemia in black South African patients at a tertiary hospital in northern Gauteng, South Africa.

Background: The prevalence of cardiovascular disease is projected to be 38.7% for the USA in 2020, including coronary heart disease at 8.6% and stroke at 3.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibition.

Purpose Of Review: There are now ample data that demonstrate that inhibition of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) can safely lower LDL cholesterol synergistically with statins. Considering that PCSK9 was first identified less than a decade ago, the last few years have shown rapid and remarkable advancements in our understanding and knowledge of the structure and function of PCSK9.

Recent Findings: Therapeutic developments have not lagged far behind with some monoclonal antibodies currently entering phase III trials.

Rodent nutritional model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: species, strain and sex difference studies.

Background And Aim: The methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet leads to steatohepatitis in rodents. The aim of the present study was to investigate species, strain and sex differences in this nutritional model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Methods: Male and female Wistar, Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats, and C57/BL6 mice (n = 6 per group) were fed a MCD diet for 4 weeks.