Hypercholesterolemia During Pregnancy is Caused by Increased Endogenous Cholesterol Synthesis: Let’s Use it for Screening of Familial Hypercholesterolemias Too!

Authors

  • Josef Hyánek Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
  • František Pehal Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Ladislava Dubská Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Blanka Míková Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Lada Gombíková Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Stanislav Kubu Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Central Laboratories, Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Petra Halácková Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Central Laboratories, Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Jaroslav Feyreisl Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Central Laboratories, Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Ludek Táborský Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology and Immunology, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-5634.2017.06.04.1

Keywords:

Hypercholesterolemia during pregnancy, familial hypercholesterolemia, non-cholesterol sterols, lathosterol, desmosterol, campesterol, sitosterol.

Abstract

Aims: To demonstrate the origin and the diagnostic significance of non-cholesterol sterols (NCSs) in healthy pregnant women with gestational hypercholesterolemia.

Patients and Methods: Based on a total of 21,000 clinical biochemistry tests of healthy pregnant women with hypercholesterolemia observed during pregnancy, a group of 84 women with TC (total cholesterol) >7.0 mmol/L was recruited to analyze their NCSs using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry. The NCSs under examination comprised lathosterol (Lat) and desmosterol (Des) as markers of endogenous cholesterol synthesis, and campesterol (Cam) and sitosterol (Sit) as markers for intestinal absorption.

Results: In the total of 21,000 pregnant women, the median values were: TC 6.8 mol/l, LDL-C 4.6 mmol/L, and HDL-C 2.2 mmol/L. In the testing group of 84 women, the average values were: Lat 7.8+/-1.7 μmol/L, Des 4.7+/-0.9 μmol/L, Cam 9.8+/-2.6 μmol/L, and Sit 9.6 +/-3.8 μmol/L. Lat was found to correlate with TC (r = 0.53), LDL-C (r = 0.36), and non-HDL-C (r = 0.35). No such correlations were observed for Sit (r = 0.162) or Cam (r = 0.153).

Conclusion: Our findings show that the high incidence of hypercholesterolemia during pregnancy is caused by increased endogenous cholesterol synthesis via lathosterol. The enormous rise of TC levels during pregnancy can be effectively used to detect familial hypercholesterolemia in women.

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Published

2018-01-05

How to Cite

Hyánek, J., Pehal, F., Dubská, L., Míková, B., Gombíková, L., Kubu, S., Halácková, P., Feyreisl, J., & Táborský, L. . (2018). Hypercholesterolemia During Pregnancy is Caused by Increased Endogenous Cholesterol Synthesis: Let’s Use it for Screening of Familial Hypercholesterolemias Too!. Journal of Nutritional Therapeutics, 6(4), 79–83. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-5634.2017.06.04.1

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General Articles