[Treatment of homozygotic familial hypercholesterolemia with continuous apheresis of low density lipoproteins].

A boy of 8 years 4 months of age was diagnosed as having homozygotic familial hypercholesterolemia and commenced treatment with an apheresis technique of low density lipoproteins. This procedure consists in the extracorporeal elimination of low density lipoproteins by fixing the same in a cellulose column with dextran-sulphate. Each session lasts between 90-150 minutes and is carried out weekly. Prior to initiation of the treatment, the total plasmatic concentration of cholesterol was 24 mml/l (930 mg/dl), low density lipoprotein ligated cholesterol 22.6 mmol/l (876 mg/dl) and high density lipoprotein ligated cholesterol 0.98 mmol/l (38 mg/dl). Following 8 weeks of treatment total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein ligated cholesterol were 10 mmol/l (394 mg/dl) and 8.6 mmol/l (335 mg/dl) respectively upon commencing the treatment and 4.7 mmol/l (184 mg/dl) and 3 mmol/l (118 mg/dl) upon completion of the same. This is the first time in Spain that treatment with this technique has been used in homozygotic familial hypercholesterolemia.