[Changes of serum cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and serum lipoprotein electrophoretogram in senior patients with cerebral infarction].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the changes in the levels of serum cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein and in serum lipoprotein electrophoretogram in elderly patients with cerebral infarction.

METHODS

Serum lipoprotein electrophoretograms (SLPG) of 118 elderly patients with cerebral infarction and 60 healthy elderly subjects were measured by means of double gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined by enzymatic method.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, the serum level of HDL-C was significantly increased in the patients (1.0+/-0.3 mmol/L), who also had decreased TC/HDL-C ratio (5.3+/-1.4), but no significant difference occurred in terms of TC concentration between these two groups. Among the patients with cerebral infarction, 86.4% had abnormalities of SLPG, especially in the alpha-lipoprotein electrophoretogram (P<0.001-0.05) regardless of HDL-C elevations.

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased HDL-C, elevated TC/HDL-C ratio and abnormal SLPG may be the risk factors for the onset of cerebral infarction in senior patients, for which alpha-lipoprotein electrophoretogram can be more sensitive than serum HDL-C level. TC levels is of little value in predicting cerebral infarction.