RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LipoScience, Inc., an in-vitro diagnostic company advancing patient care in cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases using an innovative and proprietary platform based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology, today announced the publication of a consensus statement in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology by a panel of experts in the field of clinical lipidology that was convened by the National Lipid Association (NLA), a nonprofit, multidisciplinary medical society focused on enhancing the practice of lipid management in clinical medicine. The panel recommends testing for several cardiovascular biomarkers, including LDL particle number (LDL-P), for the clinical assessment and on-treatment management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
The consensus panel recommends that the use of LDL particle number for initial clinical risk assessment of CVD is reasonable for many patients at intermediate risk, including patients with a family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) and recurrent cardiac events. In addition, LDL particle number should be considered in the risk assessment of selected patients with known CHD or CHD risk equivalent.
The panel also recommends that LDL particle number for on-treatment management of CVD risk is reasonable for many patients at intermediate risk, including patients with coronary heart disease, a CHD risk equivalent and in patients with recurrent cardiac events. LDL particle number should be considered in the management of selected patients with a family history of CHD.
“As a practicing cardiologist who uses LDL particle number for assessing and managing my patients’ cardiovascular risk, I agree with the NLA recommendations that support the clinical utility of this cardiovascular biomarker,” said Richard Wright, M.D., F.A.C.C., and Director of the Pacific Heart Institute in Santa Monica, Calif.
Measuring LDL is important for managing a patient’s risk for heart disease. Cholesterol does not travel freely in the body – it is transported in spherical LDL particles. Elevated numbers of LDL particles cause plaque buildup in the arteries, which in turn leads to heart attacks and other CVD events. Healthcare providers historically have used LDL cholesterol levels to determine LDL-related risk and how much treatment, if any, a patient needs. However, the amount of cholesterol per LDL particle varies substantially and can change over time; therefore LDL cholesterol levels do not always provide an accurate estimate of a patient’s LDL particle number and the CVD risk these particles bring about.
“These recommendations further validate the need to look at alternate measures of LDL because LDL cholesterol can overestimate or underestimate a person’s risk for heart disease,” said Robert Honigberg, M.D., chief medical officer of LipoScience. “Analysis of data from large studies such as the Framingham Heart Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) has established that in many cases, discordantly elevated LDL particle numbers are more closely associated with adverse cardiovascular events than LDL cholesterol.”
LipoScience’s NMR LipoProfile test has been used to study over 48,000 patients in ten coronary disease outcome studies. In each of the studies, LDL particle number was more strongly linked to the disease outcome than LDL cholesterol. Most recently, in March 2011, the Journal of Clinical Lipidology published results from the MESA study showing that in people with LDL particle and LDL cholesterol levels that did not agree, cardiovascular events and carotid artery plaque tracked with LDL particle number.
About LipoScience, Inc.
LipoScience, Inc. is an in-vitro diagnostic company committed to advancing patient care in cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases using an innovative and proven proprietary platform based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology. The NMR LipoProfile® test measures the number of low density lipoprotein particles (LDL-P) in a blood sample and provides physicians and their patients with actionable information to personalize management of risk for heart disease. To date, six million NMR LipoProfile tests have been ordered by clinicians. For further information on the Company, please visit www.liposcience.com and www.theparticletest.com.