|
|
||||||||
Technical Briefs |
a address correspondence to this author at: C/.Sant Joan s/n, 43201-Reus, Catalunya, Spain
Despite the obvious clinical advantages, the measurement of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) by reliable and easy-to-perform methods is not yet completely free of problems. Several reports have described homogeneous (direct) assays for HDL-C that are readily adaptable to automated analyzers as online procedures (1)(2)(3). These methods have proved to be effective and inexpensive tools for the routine screening of HDL-C in large populations. However, in a recent article (4) we observed that one of these techniques significantly undervalued the concentrations of HDL-C in patients with liver cirrhosis, a condition in which alterations in lipoprotein structure and composition are commonly found (5). Although HDL-C is not a clinically important determination in liver cirrhosis, our finding may have consequences for research groups investigating lipoprotein metabolism and its alterations.
The aims of the present study were (a) to compare three different techniques for homogeneous HDL-C measurement with a reference method [single vertical-spin ultracentrifugation (SVS)] in a group of patients with cirrhosis; and (b) to investigate whether there was a relationship between the method biases and abnormal composition of lipoproteins.
The study was performed on 58 control subjects and 37 patients with
liver cirrhosis. Control subjects were chosen randomly from the routine
health and safety-at-work checks conducted in several industrial
companies in our area. Excluded were those subjects with clinical or
laboratory evidence of diabetes, neoplasia, renal disease, hepatic
damage, and cardiovascular disease. Cirrhotic patients were diagnosed
by liver biopsy and proceeded from the outpatient clinics of the
Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan de Reus. The etiology of cirrhosis
was alcoholic in 23 patients (62%), viral in 12 (32%), and
cryptogenic in 2 (6%). Twelve of the 23 alcoholic cirrhotic patients
had quit alcohol consumption at least 3 months prior to
Acknowledgments
Footnotes
References
The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:
![]() |
F. Gomez, J. Camps, J. M. Simo, N. Ferre, and J. Joven Agreement Study of Methods Based on the Elimination Principle for the Measurement of LDL- and HDL-Cholesterol Compared with Ultracentrifugation in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Clin. Chem., August 1, 2000; 46(8): 1188 - 1191. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |