Lipidology question -- what does it mean if Lp(a) is absent or not detectable? Also, can very low levels of Lp(a) help vessel wall to have more integrity, i.e. stronger and less likely to rupture?
Lp(a) is not essential for anything, therefore the absence of Lp(a) is good news. We know that high Lp(a) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease but the mechanisms are still under discussion. Seems to be that Lp(a) is a sink for oxidized phospholipids which induce an increased inflammatory response in monocytes, clots in people with high Lp(a) show a different structure than clots in non Lp(a) carriers, Lp(a) might influence the calcification of heart valve ....
I am not sure of data showing a correlation between Lp(a) concentration and the vulnerability of plaques independent of the LDL-C. This is in general the biggest problem in Lp(a) research to prove that the effect is independent of LDL-C.
Thanks, I appreciate the information. I had wondered if at some time in history low levels might have played a role in arterial wall repair, or if low levels even today might still, mostly because of the autoimmune or inflammatory properties. Not much written on it at all, but I did find a piece of literature saying at one time in some mammals it might have repaired vessels from rupture.
So, I guess that was antiquity. No or low Lp(a) is good; high or even moderate levels are risk factors for CVD.
Denise
There are not that many mammals expressing Lp(a): human, hedgehog and some apes. I wouldn´t transfer results from transgenic mice expressing hapo(a) and hapoB to humans.
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