[Alcohol-induced hypertriglyceridemia in subjects with decreased lipoprotein lipase--improvement after cessation of alcohol intake].

We systematically investigated the effect of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and alcohol intake on the development of primary type IV hyperlipoproteinemia which is manifested as a moderate increase in serum triglycerides as a consequence of an elevated very low density lipoprotein concentration and a normal level of serum cholesterol. Twenty six type IV hyperlipoproteinemic and 28 normolipidemic males underwent measurement of the immunoreactive LPL mass in postheparin plasma (30 unit of heparin/kg of body weight) and were interviewed as to their alcohol consumption. They were divided into 4 groups, with a LPL mass of 150ng/ml (20 percentile of the normal range) and an alcohol intake of 33g/day as the borderlines. All subjects with LPL mass less than 150ng/ml and alcohol intake of more than 33g/day were prone to manifest type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. One of the subjects in this group showed a recovery to normolipidemic state after cessation of alcohol intake. Subject whose LPL mass value was more than 180ng/ml (50 percentile of the normal range) were not susceptible to type IV hyperlipoproteinemia even though they drank alcohol more than 33g/day.