Early treatment with statin reduces CV morbidity in Familial hypercholesterolemia, finds study

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by elevated serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from birth onwards, and is at increased risk for premature atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular events. Subclinical atherosclerosis can be quantified non- invasively by measuring the intima-media thickness (IMT), the thickness of inner most two layers of vessel wall. IMT is usually measured in the carotid and/or femoral artery and has been proven to be a surrogate marker of the status and progression of atherosclerosis. Statins are the preferred pharmacological therapy in patients with FH to reduce serum LDL-C levels, cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality.

Kika van Bergen et al, conducted a systematic literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE and ClinicalTrials.gov up to April 2020 for studies addressing IMT in FH patients and controls to look at progression of IMT in FH patients as compared to controls and also the response to treatment. A total of 42 studies having 6,143 participants were included.

Important observations from this study are as follows: