11 Dec Lipid Metabolites in Blood Predictive of Future Coronary Artery Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD, FAHA
Professor of Molecular Epidemiology and
Andrea Ganna PhD student
Uppsala University
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Coronary heart disease (CHD) comprises a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Measurement of metabolites, small molecules, in the blood could allow earlier diagnosis and inform about mechanisms leading to CHD. We examined the metabolic profiles (including thousands of metabolites) of blood samples from more than 3,600 individuals from Sweden that had been followed-up for up to 10 years, and found two lipid-related metabolites, lysophosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin that reduced the risk of developing coronary heart disease and another lipid metabolite, monoglycerides, that was instead associated with increased risk.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: Metabolites identified in the blood could be useful in prediction of future cardiovascular disease, but additional studies are needed before these can be implemented in the regular clinical care.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: We are currently planning experimental studies using cell and animal models to investigate the potential causal role of these metabolites in the development of cardiovascular disease. If confirmed, these findings could point to new therapeutic targets.
Citation:
Large-scale Metabolomic Profiling Identifies Novel Biomarkers for Incident
Coronary Heart Disease
Lars Lind,
PLoS Genetics
December 11, 2014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004801
Last Updated on December 11, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD