Publications document that oxidized LDL identifies, with a high degree of accuracy, early stages of atherosclerosis in asymptomatic subjects recruited from the general population. The aim of the following study was to investigate clinically silent atherosclerosis based on intima-media thickness and the occurrence and size of plaque lesions (as measured by ultrasound in the carotid and femoral arteries) versus the oxidized LDL assay developed by National Screening Institute.
study was conducted by Drs. Johannes Hulthe and Bjorn Fagerberg at the Wallenburg Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research in Gothenburg, Sweden. The study successfully demonstrates that oxidized LDL provides clear and distinct separation in patients with and without subclinical atherosclerosis. The results are published in Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, July 2002, Volume 22. www.ahajournals.com
The study results included 365 healthy males, 58 years in age, randomly selected (n=818) with the aim to include men with different degrees of obesity and insulin sensitivity. Exclusion criteria were cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, angina, stroke, intermittent claudication, aortic disease), clinical diabetes, and other established diseases, or treatment with cardiovascular drugs.
The following scatterplot shows the relationship between oxidized LDL and the occurrence of at least one plaque lesion in the carotid and femoral arteries:
