THE ESSENTIAL
- Cholesterol, an essential lipid in the body, circulates freely in the blood thanks to two proteins: high-density lipoproteins (HDL), which correspond to good cholesterol, and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), for bad cholesterol. .
- Researchers have found that good cholesterol may be harmful to heart health.
- Specifically, it is a form of HDL cholesterol, called free cholesterol, which can increase cholesterol in white blood cells and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
20% of adults have bad cholesterol (LDL) above 1.6 g/l in the blood, the threshold from which we speak hypercholesterolemia. But there is also another cholesterol, good cholesterol (HDL). This carries excess bad cholesterol from the blood to the liver for elimination. According to the Vidal“rather, it has the effect of reducing the rate of cardiovascular diseases”.
HDL cholesterol increases the risk of cardiovascular disease
An idea called into question by researchers from the hospital Houston Methodistin the United States. During their work, published in the journal Journal of lipid researchthey indicate having discovered that good cholesterol could be harmful to heart health and increase the risk of disease.
“During routine checkups, adults have their cholesterol levels tested, which includes both bad cholesterol (LDL) and good cholesterol (HDL), explain Henry J. Pownallone of the authors, in a communiqué. What is not generally known is that each type of cholesterol has two forms: free cholesterol, which is active and involved in cellular functions, and bound cholesterol, which is more stable and ready for storage in the body. Excess free cholesterol, even if found in HDL, could contribute to the development of heart disease”.
Currently, the scientists are halfway through their study. During this work, they studied the health data of 400 patients. “The most surprising finding of our study so far is that there is a strong link between the amount of free cholesterol in HDL and the amount of cholesterol that accumulates in white blood cells called macrophages, which may contribute to the development of heart disease”, details Henry J. Pownall.
Understanding cholesterol to better detect and treat it
The immediate goal of scientists is to show that excess free cholesterol increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.We plan to achieve it in less than three years”underlines Henry J. Pownall. If they succeed, they could then carry out experiments on humans, as part of clinical studies. Henry J. Pownall is banking on a time frame of around six years.
Ultimately, researchers hope to be able to improve the detection and treatment of cardiovascular diseases linked to free cholesterol. They believe that this could be used as a biomarker to identify patients most at risk and who would therefore need treatment earlier.
Health
Canada
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