American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 5, 286-294, Copyright © 1957 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Macromolecular Lipoproteins in Atherosclerosis: A Review

¹ From the Department of Pathology, Wayne County General Hospital and Infirmary, Eloise, Michigan

Although aging and atherosclerosis are chronologically associated, the relationship is not one of cause and effect. Atheromatosis is a process conditioned by local and systemic metabolic factors. The cause of lipid deposition in arteries doubtless is related to changes in the concentration, composition and state of aggregation of the lipid substances in the blood. Physiochemical characterization of the serum lipoproteins in regard to particle size gives better correlation with atherosclerotic heart disease than does the concentration of serum cholesterol. The distribution of cholesterol between the - and -lipoproteins may prove to have diagnostic value. Hypertension and vascular injury are contributory factors in production of atherosclerosis, since they alter the permeability of the arterial intima thereby facilitating deposition of lipid. Cholesterol in the diet is also a contributory factor, but ingestion of excess fat is apparently the primary factor concerned in the physical, chemical and physiologic processes that promote atherosclerosis.