Preliminary report: treatment of type 3 hyperlipoproteinemia with mevinolin.

Type 3 hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP) results from the accumulation in plasma of remnants of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) due to a defect in apolipoprotein E. Current data suggest that VLDL remnants can be removed by the same receptors that remove low density lipoproteins (LDL). Mevinolin has been shown to enhance clearance of LDL by LDL receptors. In this study, mevinolin markedly lowered both VLDL remnants and LDL in a patient with type 3 HLP, presumably by increasing the activity of LDL receptors.