Cholesterol FS 10'

Cholesterol is a component off cell membranes and a precursor for steroid hormones and bile acids synthesized by body cells and absorbed with food. Cholesterol is transported in plasma via lipoproteins, namely complexes between lipids and apolipoproteins. There are four classes of lipoproteins: high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), and chylomicrons. While LDL is involved in cholesterol transport to the peripheral cells, HDL is responsible for the cholesterol uptake from the cells. The four different lipoprotein classes show a distinct relationship to coronary atherosclerosis. LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) contributes to atherosclerotic plaque formation within the arterial intima and is strongly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and related mortality. Even with total cholesterol within the normal range, an increased concentration of LDL-C indicates high risk.

HDL-C has a protective effect impeding plaque formation and shows an inverse relationship to CHD prevalence. In fact, low HDL-C values constitute an independent risk factor. The determination of the individual total cholesterol (TC) level is used for screening purposes while for a better risk assessment it is necessary to measure additionally HDL-C and LDL-C. In the last few years, several controlled clinical trials using diet, lifestyle changes and/or different drugs (especially HMG CoA reductase inhibitors [statins]) have demonstrated that lowering total cholesterol and LDL-C levels reduce drastically CHD risk