Dyslipidemia

Dyslipidemia is a disruption in the amount of lipids in the blood.

In western societies, most dyslipidemias are hyperlipidemias; that is, an elevation of lipids in the blood, often due to diet and lifestyle. The prolonged elevation of insulin levels can lead to dyslipidemia. Increased levels of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) are known to cause dylipidaemia. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7181/edsumm/e080221-09.html]

Classification

There are two major ways in which dyslipidemias are classified:

* Phenotype, or the presentation in the body (including the specific type of lipid that is increased)
* Etiology, or the reason for the condition (genetic, or secondary to another condition.) This classification can be problematic, because most conditions involve the intersection of genetics and lifestyle issues. However, there are a few well defined genetic conditions that are usually easy to identify.

Fredrickson Classification:

Types

Increases

:"These conditions are discussed in greater detail at hyperlipidemia."

* Hyperlipidemia: lipids
** Hypercholesterolemia: cholesterol
** Hyperglyceridemia: glycerides
*** Hypertriglyceridemia: triglycerides
* Hyperlipoproteinemia: lipoproteins (usually LDL unless otherwise specified)
** Hyperchylomicronemia: chylomicrons
* Combined hyperlipidemia: both LDL and triglycerides

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a specific form of hypercholesterolemia due to a defect on chromosome 19 (19p13.1-13.3).

Decreases

* Hypolipoproteinemia: lipoproteins
* Hypocholesterolemia: cholesterol
* Abetalipoproteinemia: beta lipoproteins
* Tangier disease: high density lipoprotein

References

Fredrickson DS, Lees RS. A system for phenotyping hyperlipoproteinemia. Circulation 1965;31:321-327.