Novel treatment of patients with high cholesterol focus of national meeting

Discussion about the science behind the recent changes to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) cholesterol-lowering guidelines and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of patients with lipid disorders will be the main focus of presentations given at the 7th Annual Scientific Forum of the National Lipid Association (NLA) being held this weekend in Orlando, Florida.

Implications of recent lipid-lowering clinical trials and the specific changes to the NCEP guidelines will be the focus of discussion by Neil J. Stone, M.D., professor of clinical medicine of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

"The evidence provided in recent clinical trials has shown us that there is a need to substantially reduce LDL-cholesterol levels to less than 70 mg/dL in very high risk patients to help reduce the risk of heart disease," said Dr. Stone. "However, it is not going to be easy to get these patients to this goal."

Achieving these new LDL cholesterol goals in high risk patients will be the focus of a presentation given by Peter H. Jones, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Section of Atherosclerosis and Lipid Research at the Baylor College of Medicine.

"In light of these new recommendations, healthcare professionals need to develop appropriate therapeutic strategies to help our patients achieve goal," said Dr. Peter Jones. "Since single drug use, primarily with statins, may not be adequate, we need to individually tailor therapy with bile acid sequestrants, cholesterol absorption inhibitors and nicotinic acid to determine the most safe and effective combination therapy for our patients with high cholesterol."

Other presentations will focus on advanced lipid testing, pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, the role of HDL (good) cholesterol and triglycerides in cardiovascular disease, the impact of diet on cholesterol management, genetic and environmental interactions in metabolic syndrome, and emerging therapies in the management of high cholesterol.