European Atherosclerosis Journal

FindMyLipidClinic.com: A global Directory of lipid clinics and patient organisations to improve dyslipidemia care

2022-07-11T09:51:54+00:00

Information available on lipid clinics and patient support and advocacy groups, such as location and services provided, is limited or unknown to patients with dyslipidaemia and their family members who may also be affected, and non-specialist clinicians, hindering accessibility to appropriate healthcare. To overcome this, the European Atherosclerosis Society Familial Hypercholesterolemia Study Collaboration (EAS FHSC) led by Imperial College London has, in collaboration with the European FH Patient Network (FH Europe), developed FindMyLipidClinic.com, a global Directory of lipid clinics and patient support groups in 29 languages. Since its launch in 2020, around 4,000 visitors have conducted 12,000 searches across 1,100 locations, which may have retrieved up to 124 lipid clinics and 29 patient groups currently listed in 39 and 28 countries, respectively. Clinics and patient organisations not currently listed are encouraged to join this directory, and it would also benefit further from collaborations with other existing directories able to contribute.

Metabolic impact of extrahepatic PCSK9 modulation

2022-10-07T15:38:22+00:00

The Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin type 9 (PCSK9) protease is a 692 amino acid glycoprotein which belongs to the proprotein convertase family. PCSK9 binds several receptors of the LDL family, including VLDLR, LRP1 but also with CD36, driving their lysosomal degradation. From the beginning of the 21^st century a growing body of interest raised around the opportunity to pharmacologically inhibit PCSK9, and most recently, monoclonal antibodies have been successfully tested for the treatment of severe/genetic forms of dyslipidemia. Despite the majority of circulating PCSK9 being produced by the liver, other organs come into play contributing to its production, such as the heart, the pancreas, and the brain. Nonetheless, extrahepatic PCSK9 may exert a local/paracrine and or autocrine metabolic impact in the homeostatic regulation of cholesterol metabolism, suggesting that, opposite to the liver, in other tissue PCSK9 deficiency or inhibition could contribute to the development of specific organ and tissues dysfunctionalities.

European, Russian and American Clinical Guidelines on dyslipidemias management – where do we stand?

2022-10-17T09:51:16+00:00

Current clinical guidelines on lipid metabolism disorders are represented by the integration of relevant multicenter observational studies and registries aimed to identify best strategies in cardiovascular risk stratification, diagnostics and treatment of dyslipidemias. The approaches outlined in the European, Russian and American clinical guidelines look relevant to each other despite a range slightly different postulates, as they all demonstrate a general tendency to the importance of accurate risk stratification of patients and timely action on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels when using effective lipid-lowering therapy.