Long-Term Follow-Up of a Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemic Patient Receiving Regular Double Filtration Plasmapheresis - Case Report and Literature Review.

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a very rare condition (1 case per 1 million people) with a dismal outcome due to inevitable coronary artery disease that occurs when left untreated. Lipoprotein apheresis (LA), previously known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis, is very effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) if HoFH is refractory to aggressive drug therapy and diet control. In this study, we report a case with HoFH, who presented with xanthomata over the 4 limbs when she was 3 years old. When she was 11 years old, she began treatment with semi-selective LA with double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) once per week because HoFH was refractory to high-dose statin and diet control. LDL-C was reduced from 8.2 ± 0.9 to 2.69 ± 0.75 mmol/l (reduction rate = 67.3 ± 6.1%). The xanthomata over the 4 limbs were nearly completely resolved after 2 years of DFPP. Two years later, after the initiation of DFPP, we performed coronary angiography and echocardiography for regular checkup in the absence of chest pain, and the result was negative. To date (11 years after initiation of DFPP), she has not complained of any chest pain, shown intolerance to exercise, or exhibited ST-T change on electrocardiography. At the age of 20, multidetector computed tomography showed no significant stenosis over the coronary arteries. At the most recent follow-up visit, she was found to have good heart function and no xanthomata. LA is effective in the treatment of HoFH when drug therapy and diet control fail. With this treatment, pre-existing xanthomata can regress and coronary artery disease can be prevented.

Eucaloric substitution of medium chain triglycerides for dietary long chain fatty acids in acquired total lipodystrophy: effects on hyperlipoproteinemia and endogenous insulin resistance.

Previous studies have suggested that reduction of dietary fat intake, with or without caloric restriction, may lead to improvement in certain of the characteristic abnormalities that accompany total lipodystrophy (TLD). We have studied the effects of eucaloric medium chain triglyceride (MCT) substitution for dietary long chain fatty acids in a patient with acquired total lipodystrophy and unusual somatic and visceral anomalies. The patient exhibited insulin resistance, carbohydrate intolerance, striking fasting- and glucose-stimulated hyperinsulinemia, hyperglucagonemia, type V hyperlipoproteinemia, and lipoprotein lipase deficiency on a normal diet. Improvement in chylomicronemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and xanthomatosis occurred during eucaloric MCT substitution. Carbohydrate intolerance decreased and fasting immunoreactive glucagon and insulin concentrations fell 37% and 83%, respectively. Plasma triglyceride polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations decreased to very low levels. With long term MCT feeding supplemented by polyunsaturated fatty acids, hepatomegaly has gradually decreased, while body weight has remained stable. The patient has not yet required insulin therapy. These observations suggest that the abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism are closely linked to, and perhaps dependent on, the abnormalities in lipoprotein transport in TLD. Long chain triglyceride restriction and MCT supplementation should be attempted in additional patients with the features of TLD to determine whether this is a generally effective therapeutic approach.

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