The relation between the levels of HDL cholesterol and the capacity for removal of triglycerides.

In twenty-two men with "normal" findings clinically, by exercise ECG and laboratory tests, we performed an i.v. fat tolerance test, measurement of LCAT activity and the activities of post-heparin triglyceride lipases, and estimated serum lipids. HDL cholesterol was positively correlated to lipoprotein lipase (r=0.50, p < 0.05) and to the fractional removal rate of exogenous fat (r=0.59, p < 0.01), and negatively to the fasting levels of triglycerides (r=-0.65, p < 0.01). LCAT was neither correlated to HDL cholesterol nor to the fat removal rate. Our reseults confirm that a high triglyceride removal capacity is closely correlated to a high level of HDL. The association between the catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and HDL was thus further substantiated.