The Impact of the International Cooperation On Familial Hypercholesterolemia Screening and Treatment: Results from the ScreenPro FH Project.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is often perceived and described as underdiagnosed and undertreated, though effective treatment of FH is available. Owing to the mentioned facts, it is ever more imperative to screen and treat FH patients. Subsequent to the identification of patients, the project focuses on the improvement of their prognoses. The ScreenPro FH project was established as a functional international network for the diagnosis, screening, and treatment of FH. Individual countries were assigned goals, e.g., to define the actual situation and available treatment. With "central support," more centers and countries participated in the project. Subsequently, individual countries reported the results at the beginning and end of the project. Collected data were statistically evaluated. RECENT FINDINGS: The increasing number of patients in databases, from 7500 in 2014 to 25,347 in 2018, demonstrates the improvement in overall effectiveness, as well as an increase in the number of centers from 70 to 252. Before all, LDL-C decreased by 41.5% and total cholesterol by 32.3%. As data from all countries and patients were not available at the time of the analysis, only those results from 10 countries and 5585 patients at the beginning of the project and at the time of writing are included. Our data are quite positive. However, our results have only limited validity. Our patients are far from the target levels of LDL-C. The situation can be improved with the introduction of new therapy, PCSK9-i, evolocumab, and alirocumab. International cooperation improved the screening of FH and finally led to an improvement in cardiovascular risk.

[Familial hypercholesterolemia - past and present. My experiences and findings in our group of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia]. / Familiární hypercholesterolemie vcera a dnes. Vlastní zkusenosti a nálezy u naseho souboru nemocných s familiární hypercholesterolemií

Currently, the familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) rises the interest. The reason is that this genetic disorder is targeted by newly emerged and highly effective hypolipidemic agents, PCSK-9 inhibitors, lomitapid and mipomersen. Present paper discusses 2 patient study groups, before 50 years and nowadays. Although direct statistical analysis is impossible some changes in clinical features of FH might be found over the course of the time. In fact, the basic FH characteristic has not changed dramatically. Severe isolated hypercholesterolemia with total cholesterol 9-10 mmol/l, LDL-cholesterol 7-8 mmol/l and normal values of triglycerides dominates in laboratory analysis. Interestingly, the values of triglycerides increase and almost reach the pathological range in comparison to the values from the period 50 years ago. The values of HDL-cholesterol are normal. Manifestation of CHD in male patients over 40 years of age and in female patients over 50 years of age is not exceptional (rarely occur cases of myocardial infarction in third decade of age). Typical clinical manifestation of FH is xanthomatosis. The early detection and aggressive treatment in FH patients cause that xanthoma tendinosum, xanthelesma and arcus lipoides are less frequent as decades ago. Obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension do not belong to typical clinical sign of FH.