The clinical distinction has become popular: there is a “bad” cholesterol – low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol – and a “good” cholesterol – high-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol. However, it is an idea that we must review , based on research that has been published in the journal Science .
The scientists examined the genomes of 852 people with abnormally high HDL and compared it to the DNA of 1,156 other individuals who had normal levels. The first thing they discovered is that some of the first had genetic mutations that affected the production of a protein called SR-B1 , linked to the increase in HDL, something not surprising. But what they didn’t expect is that their risk of coronary heart disease was also higher. Because the prevailing doctrine affirms just the opposite.
It is true that until now a conclusive relationship between HDL and cardiovascular health has not been established ; In fact, some experiments with mice support that the deficiency of the SR-B1 protein had the two consequences pointed out by the new study: it raised HDL levels and, at the same time, increased the incidence of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) in laboratory animals.
“Our work shows that the protective effects of HDL depend more on how this lipoprotein works than on the mere fact that there is more or less amount in the blood,” explained Daniel J. Rader, a physician at the University of Pennsylvania and principal responsible for the study. “We still have a lot to learn about the role that HDL plays in cardiovascular disease risk.” ” Maybe we should stop calling it good cholesterol ,” says Sekar Kathiresan, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, another of the authors of the paper.
