Evidence of reduced plasma HDL subfractions in patients with cutaneous discoid lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dyslipidemic profile of patients with Cutaneous Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) with particular emphasis on the levels of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterol and its subfractions, HDL2 and HDL3. DESIGN AND METHOD: The study involved characterization of the lipid profile of 30 patients with diagnosed DLE (11 male and 19 female) and 34 age- and BMI-matched healthy individuals. RESULTS: Patients with DLE presented increased serum cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-Cholesterol levels (P < 0.001, respectively) compared to the control group, while the levels of HDL-Cholesterol (P < 0.001), as well as its subfractions, HDL2 (P < 0.001) and HDL3 (P < 0.02) were markedly decreased. In addition, the ratio of CHOL/HDL was increased in patients with DLE (P < 0.001), whereas a reduction was observed in the ratio of HDL2/HDL3 (P < 0.001) in the same group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that patients with cutaneous discoid lupus erythematosus have an increased risk of atherosclerosis due to the marked dyslipidemia associated with the disease. The reduced levels of HDL subfractions, HDL2 and HDL3, are believed to contribute to the dyslipidemic profile and further provide an important target for therapeutic intervention.

Comparison of raloxifene and atorvastatin effects on serum lipids composition of healthy post-menopausal women.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the selective oestrogen receptor modulator, raloxifene, and those of statin, atorvastatin, in reducing the cardiovascular risks associated with the post-menopausal status. A detailed study of serum lipid concentrations was performed in four groups of post-menopausal women receiving either placebo, raloxifene or atorvastatin alone or their combination for the period of three months. Group A (raloxifene) showed significant decrease in total cholesterol levels (P < 0.05) and an increase in phospholipids concentration (P < 0.05), followed by a marked reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (P < 0.01) and ApoB amounts (P < 0.001). Additionally, ApoA-I concentration was significantly increased (P < 0.01). Group B (atorvastatin) presented decreased cholesterol (P < 0.05) and triglycerides levels (P < 0.01), followed by elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration (P < 0.05) and low LDL-C amounts (P < 0.001). ApoA-I was significantly increased (P < 0.001) whereas ApoB was reduced (P < 0.001). The combined treatment in Group C (raloxifene and atorvastatin) showed significant changes in the majority of serum lipids. In particular, total cholesterol was reduced (P < 0.001), as well as triglycerides (P < 0.001) levels. Phospholipids were raised (P < 0.01) whereas LDL-C was reduced (P < 0.001) as was ApoB (P < 0.001). Furthermore, ApoA-I was elevated (P < 0.001). A further attempt to evaluate each treatment group was performed and the significance of these results is discussed.