title: High remnant lipoprotein levels in patients with variant angina.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dyslipidemia with increased oxidative stress but without elevation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol has been recently implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary vasospasm.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Disordered triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism may be linked to the genesis of coronary artery spasm.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both serum remnant lipoprotein (RLP) and alpha-tocopherol levels were determined in 18 patients with the active stage of variant angina (VA), in 16 patients with the inactive stage of variant angina (IVA), and in 19 control subjects (CONTROL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The RLP levels were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in VA (6.4 +/- 2.7 mg/dl) than in IVA (4.4 +/- 1.5 mg/dl). In contrast, alpha-tocopherol levels were significantly lower in VA than that in CONTROL. Serum trigyceride levels were not significantly different among the study groups, although serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly lower in VA than in CONTROL. Smoking was significantly (p < 0.05) more prevalent in VA (72%) than in IVA (25%) and CONTROL (37%). Serum RLP levels correlated positively with triglyceride levels (R = 0.73) and correlated inversely with alpha-tocopherol levels (R = -0.31) significantly in all study subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with active stage of variant angina had higher RLP levels than inactive patients with variant angina and lower alpha-tocopherol levels than control subjects. Disordered triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism with increased oxidative stress appears to be linked to the activity of coronary vasospasm, suggesting a possible role in its pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Kansai Electric Power Hospital, Osaka, Japan. ku-miwa@hamamatsuh.go.jp
authors.forename: Kunihisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Makita
authors.forename: Katsuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Ataru
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
mesh_terms: D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003329:Coronary Vasospasm / Q000097:blood; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008074:Lipoproteins; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol