title: Skin tissue cholesterol is not related to vascular occlusive disease.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of skin tissue cholesterol (SkinTc) in predicting the presence of atherosclerosis. SkinTc concentrations were determined in 318 consecutive patients by using the non-invasive PREVU POC Skin Sterol Test. Additionally, a complete lipid status and cardiovascular risk profile according to the PROCAM and Framingham scores as well as an evaluation by carotid duplex sonography and ankle-brachial blood pressure index testing was obtained from all patients. SkinTc concentrations did not differ significantly among patients suffering from cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) compared to the corresponding control groups and among patients with a calculated cardiovascular risk > 10% in 10 years compared to patients with a risk < 10% (all p > 0.05). Additionally, SkinTc concentrations were not significantly higher in the 245 patients with at least one documented atherosclerotic disease compared with the remaining 73 patients without evidence of atherosclerosis. In conclusion, SkinTc concentrations determined by the PREVU POC Skin SterolTest are not related to the presence of CVD and PAD or to an elevated cardiovascular risk, indicating that this parameter cannot be used as a reliable indicator of atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Internal Medicine II, Department of Angiology, University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. markus.reiter@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pourazim
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puchner
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baghestanian
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Minar
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bucek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol