Raised Remnant Cholesterol Level Correlates with Frailty

Remnant cholesterol refers to circulating cholesterol in the bloodstream that is not attached to LDL transport particles coming from the liver or HDL transport particles going to the liver. The remnant is attached to some mix of VLDL and IDL particles that serve much the same purpose as LDL particles, or incorporated into much larger chylomicron transporters that carry dietary lipids from the intestines throughout the body. Researchers have noted that remnant cholesterol appears to contribute to cardiovascular risk, speeding the progression of atherosclerosis and increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack. It is perhaps the case that remnant cholesterol increases risk to a greater degree than LDL-cholesterol levels. Certainly, remnant cholesterol is higher in people who are overweight or obese, as one might expect given that chylomicron-encapsulated dietary cholesterol contents make up a sizable fraction of remnant cholesterol. One doesn't have to propose any great new understanding of how atherosclerotic lesions form to expect remnant cholesterol to contribute to risk. A lesion forms after a tipping point is reached at which localized excess cholesterol overwhelms the macrophage cells responsible for cleaning it up and handing it off to HDL particles. More cholesterol in circulation shifts that tipping point by stressing the cleanup capacity of these macrophages. Greater chronic inflammation shifts the tipping point by making macrophages less able to clean ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs