Dr.S.Venkatesan MD

I’m trying to get  a right  answer for this question for quiet some time. The literature on lipids is so vast  , one can never finish reviewing it.There are   nearly two dozen journals that  deal with lipids ,Atherosclerosis, obesity ,and vascular biology .

Yet  , the answer to this simple question is elusive to us .The Irony is complete when we have evidence for   two diagonally  opposite responses 4 and 5 .

My interpretation of the issue

Any lipid molecule if exceeds a critical  level ( Only  if   . . . associated with hypertension, or diabetes or smoking ) can penetrate the vascular endothelium. ( HT-pressure injury , Smoke- Endothelial dysfunction  due to Nitric oxide depletion) DM -Glycation of cell membrane  , finally some  unknown inflammatory component )

Though evidence  for direct endothelial  injury is more for LDL ,  less for TGL (Almost nil  for VLDL , but  TGL has more VLDL in it !)

Strangely ,these molecules , express a mob psychological behavior .In isolation they appear innocuous. But ,in an  unfavorable   setting it shows signs of  revolt. If a group of  LDL molecule start attacking a  dysfunctional segment  of endothelium , the other molecules  like TGL and VLDL fractions would love to join the crowd  and inflict further  damage . (Of course ,the lonely HDL may watch the chaos silently !)

Questions to ponder

If LDL is a sharp knife like molecule  trying to injure the blood vessel , every normal human being is potentially threatened  by this  lipid fraction . Mind you,  this is a physiological molecule  traversing the human vascular system  at concentration  of 130mg/dl  at the  velocity of blood .

So it is  foolish  to blame this  physiological molecule for all our ignorance.

I recall one recent definition for hyperlipidemia

The lipid levels at which a patient develops vascular injury is considered high for him !