Inherited disorders of lipid transport.

The number of well-described discrete disorders of lipid transport is increasing, and the classification of the disorders also is changing, from one based on altered concentrations of classes of lipoproteins, to one based on improved understanding of the genetics of the disorders and of lipoprotein biochemistry and physiology. Many disorders are now traceable to structural defects in or the absence of key proteins such as apolipoproteins, enzymes, lipid transfer proteins, and cellular receptors.