American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 12, 241-252, Copyright © 1963 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

The Fat Tolerance Curves of Patients with Hyperlipidemia and Atherosclerosis

¹ From the Edward B. Robinette Foundation, Medical Clinic, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The mechanism of production of an abnormal fat tolerance curve was investigated by (a) comparative study of fat tolerance curves of normal subjects, subjects with hypercholesteremia and ones with hyperglyceridemia, using I¹³¹ triolein; (b) correlating the height of the fat tolerance curve with the degree of the hyperglyceridemia, and inferentially with the size of the circulating body triglyceride pool; and (c) eliciting evidences for gastrointestinal dysfunction in patients with hyperglyceridemia.

An elevated and prolonged alimentary hyperglyceridemia was demonstrated in all patients who showed elevated serum triglyceride levels, with or without clinical evidence of arterial disease. By contrast, a patient with atherosclerosis and hypercholesteremia would show a normal fat tolerance curve if his serum triglyceride level was not elevated.

An altered upper gastrointestinal digestion and absorption mechanism has been demonstrated in five patients with hyperglyceridemia. This dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract is also a factor in the production of an abnormally high and prolonged fat tolerance curve.

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