Therapies for raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

A low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level is one of the strongest predictors of coronary risk (1). The negative correlation between coronary artery disease (CAD) and plasma HDL-C has been attributed to the ability of HDL to take up cellular cholesterol from the periphery and to mediate the transport of excess cholesterol to the liver (reverse cholesterol transport, RCT) (2). In Japan, Satoh et al recently reported that a low level of HDL-C was a significant independent risk factor for CAD in young middle-aged men based on the results of a 10-year cohort study (3). Although HDL-C is a target in the treatment of atherosclerotic CAD, there are currently only a limited number of therapeutic options to increase HDL-C. However, several exciting therapeutic strategies have recently been developed and are currently the focus of intriguing research, such as reconstituted recombinant (r)HDL (4) and cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors.