Erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition in hypercholesterolaemia.

The fatty acid composition of the erythrocyte membrane was determined in 22 hypercholesterolaemic patients managed by dietary restriction, and compared with that of 22 normocholesterolaemic controls, roughly matched for age and sex with the patient group. The patients exhibited higher relative proportions of palmitic (P < 0.01) and stearic (P < 0.005) acids and lower relative proportions of linoleic acid (P < 0.05) in the erythrocyte membrane, compared with controls, which could be due to presumed dietary differences between the groups. In the patients, the degree of hypercholesterolaemia was poorly correlated with erythrocyte linoleic acid. Measurement of erythrocyte linoleic acid might prove useful in the routine management of hypercholesterolaemia.