LipoScience, Inc., has announced data showing that patients managed to a target LDL particle (LDL-P) number, as measured by the company’s NMR LipoProfile test, achieved a 22% to 25% greater reduction in the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events over a three-year period compared to patients who attained LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) targets. These data, presented in a poster session at the just-completed 63rd American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions, are derived from a real-world sample of commercially insured patients who were at a high risk of CV events, including patients with coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus. The investigators found that patients who achieved target LDL-P levels (<1000 nmol/L) received more aggressive lipid-lowering treatment than those reaching target LDL-C concentrations (<100 mg/dL). Those treatment differences were associated with better outcomes (as measured by the reduction in CV event rates) over one to three years of follow-up.
The study was sponsored by LipoScience and jointly designed by LipoScience and HealthCore, with clinical input from Terry A. Jacobson, MD, Professor of Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, and Peter P. Toth, MD, PhD, Director of Preventive Cardiology at CGH Medical Center in Sterling, IL. Dr. Jacobson and colleagues analyzed data from more than 4,000 high-risk patients (more than 2,000 with LDL-P <1000 nmol/L and more than 2,000 with LDL-C <100 mg/dL) selected from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database, who were followed for as long as three years. Patients who achieved LDL-P target <1000 nmol/L were more likely to receive higher-potency statin medications at baseline, compared to those whose LDL-P levels were not measured but who achieved LDL-C concentrations below 100 mg/dL.
“These new data add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that NMR measurement of LDL particle number, when used in conjunction with other lipid measurements, is a valuable cardiovascular risk management tool,” comments Dr. Jacobson, lead author of the study. Learn more about the NMR LipoProfile test.
