The apoprotein pattern in normolipemic peripheral vascular disease.

The relationship between peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and plasma apoproteins has still not been well defined. The lipid and apoprotein pattern of a group of 20 normolipemic patients affected by peripheral vascular disease has been compared with 20 healthy normolipemic subjects. Mean triglyceride plasma levels were higher in normolipemic patients than in the healthy controls (107.8 +/- 31.5 mg% vs 73.3 +/- 28.6 mg%; p less than 0.03) while mean HDL-cholesterol values were significantly lower (36.5 +/- 5.4 mg% vs 44.4 +/- 7.1 mg%; p less than 0.003). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the mean values of the apoproteins AI (112.1 +/- 41.2 mg% in PVD vs 117.2 +/- 17.7 mg% in controls), AII (45.1 +/- 12.2 mg% vs 50.1 +/- 11.1 mg%), B (93.7 +/- 23.5 mg% vs 91.3 +/- 21.6 mg%), CII (3.9 +/- 2.6 mg% vs 2.6 +/- 1.7 mg%), CIII (6.7 +/- 1.5 vs 5.9 +/- 1.4 mg%) and E (3.09 +/- 1.4 mg% vs 3.3 +/- 0.9 mg%). On the contrary the mean triglyceride/Apo-E ratio was higher in PVD patients than in the controls (52.3 +/- 42 vs 23.3 +/- +/- 10; p less than 0.03).