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Study of HDL genetic variants casts doubt on the beneficial impact of higher HDL levels. |
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EurekAlert: What they found was surprising. Individuals who carried a particular variation in a gene called endothelial lipase had HDL levels that were elevated about 6mg/dl, or 10% — a change expected to decrease heart attack risk by about 13%. However, these individuals showed no difference in their risk of heart disease compared to people without the variant. Similarly, the researchers identified a panel comprised of not just one but 14 different HDL-raising variants. They devised a scoring system based on the total number of copies of the gene variants a person carries — ranging from 0 to 28 — and then asked whether that score relates to the risk of heart attack. Here also they uncovered no association.
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