Good Cholesterol Associated with Increased Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease? Study Finds

A new study has shown that certain components of so-called "good" cholesterol -- high-density lipoproteins (HDL) -- may be associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The findings are published in Journal of Lipid Research.

In pre-clinical studies, the research team discovered that HDL with a high content of free cholesterol is likely dysfunctional. To validate their findings and prove their hypothesis, they are currently at the halfway point of the Houston Heart Study in which they will be studying 400 patients with a range of plasma HDL concentrations.

"The most surprising finding from our study thus far is that there is a strong link between the amount of free cholesterol in HDL and how much of it accumulates in white blood cells called macrophages, which can contribute to heart disease," Henry J. Pownall, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry in medicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute said.

Pownall said their data shows that in the context of high plasma HDL concentrations, the reverse is true, wherein free cholesterol transfer from HDL to the white blood cells in blood and tissues could actually raise one's risk for cardiovascular disease.

The researchers say once they reach their immediate goal of showing that excess free cholesterol in HDL is associated with excess cardiovascular disease, they plan to develop new diagnostics and treatments for managing heart disease, as well as use HDL-free cholesterol as a biomarker to identify patients requiring HDL-lowering therapies.

Reference: https://www.houstonmethodist.org/newsroom/houston-methodist-scientists-make-surprising-discovery-pinpointing-when-good-cholesterol-becomes/