New findings published in the prestigious Journal of Lipid Research this month could help reduce heart disease in high-risk patients with kidney disease.

Researcher Dr Doris Chan, from The University of Western Australia's School of Medicine and Pharmacology Royal Perth Hospital Unit, led a study that found patients with kidney disease had abnormalities in their blood fat metabolism which may be linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

High blood fat levels are linked to increased risk of heart disease which can be made worse by resistance of tissues to insulin action (insulin resistance) and central obesity, according to the study.

Dr Chan said increased blood fat levels could occur either due to increased production and/or decreased breakdown of apolipoprotein B, which are proteins that carry blood fat in the circulation.

By monitoring the production and breakdown of apolipoprotein B in people with kidney disease who were not centrally obese and had a similar degree of insulin resistance, Dr Chan found that subjects with early kidney disease had a principal defect in their ability to break down apolipoprotein B without increasing its production, leading to increased blood fat concentration.

"Thus, strategies to stop the breakdown of these apolipoproteins may lead to improved and more effective management of abnormal blood fat metabolism and potentially reduce the risk of heart disease in this high risk population," Dr Chan said.

To view the article online visit: http://www.jlr.org/cgi/content/full/50/12/2524

Media references

Dr Doris Chan
(UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology)  (+61 8)  9346 4078  /  (+61 4) 11 728 030
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716