The influence of age on the development of hypertriglyceridaemia and hypercholesterolaemia in genetically diabetic mice.

The effect of spontaneous diabetes on plasma lipids during the natural course of the disease was studied in genetically diabetic mice (C57BL/KsJ-db/db). Hyperlipidaemia developed uniformly in all mice studied and was found to be a characteristic part of the diabetic syndrome, as compared to normal littermates. The hyperlipidaemia was characterized by a marked rise in plasma triglyceride levels with age and severity of the disease increaing from 120+/-6 mg/dl at 5 weeks of age to 400+/-91 mg/dl at 19 weeks of age. In addition, db/db mice were observed to be hypercholesterolaemic as compared to age-matched normal littermates, The plasma cholesterol levels of diabetic mice were elevated early in the disease, as compared to control mice (200+/-6 vs. 130+/-7 mg/dl, respectively), and the mean level remained elevated throughout the period of observation.