Familial type V hyperlipoproteinemia with hyper-remnant-like particle-cholesterol accompanied with apolipoprotein E3/E4 phenotype.

A 41-year-old woman and her 2 sons had Type V hyperlipoproteinemia. Interestingly, the patient and her younger son had higher levels of remnant-like particle (RLP)-cholesterol than her elder son; the former two had apolipoprotein E phenotype E3/E4, while the latter had E3/E3. Hyper-RLP-ch levels may be associated with the apolipoprotein E4 phenotype. Moreover, after administration of bezafibrate, the patient's triglyceride, RLP-cholesterol and RLP-triglyceride levels decreased markedly and the chylomicron fraction disappeared. Further studies may be necessary to determine if hypertriglyceridemic patients with or without apolipoprotein E4 show a greater reduction in serum TG levels with lipid-lowering agents.