VIDEO: Expert discusses complexity of HDL research

NEW ORLEANS — In this video, Anatol Kontush, MD, research director, Unit 1166, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, Paris, discusses new frontiers of HDL research at the National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions.

While much effort has been spent developing novel approaches to increase HDL, unfortunately, many of the approaches have failed, causing financial losses and leaving researchers unsure where to turn, Kontush said.

“Most of the pharmacological approaches to increase HDL concentrations ... lead to elevation of plasma concentrations of large HDL product, which are normally less efficient from a biological point of view,” said Kontush. “That might be one of the reasons why those approaches have failed up until now.”

Instead, he said, researchers must understand that “HDL is a highly complex particle that carries plenty of different proteins and lipids” and that high levels may not cause CVD but could represent a biomarker of triglycerides.

According to Kontush, HDL research remains a focal point, but is still highly enigmatic.

“We need to perform significant research trying to resolve [the] present controversy between class epidemiology, genetic epidemiology and ... negative results of clinical trials to bring HDL back on track of clinical research,” he concluded.