What is new in familial hypercholesterolemia?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to describe advances in the diagnosis, cause, metabolism, risk factors for atherosclerosis, and treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia.

RECENT FINDINGS: Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is almost four-fold more frequent than previously thought and is associated with 10-fold to 13-fold risk of cardiovascular disease comparing with normolipidemics. LDL receptor (LDLR) dysfunction and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) accumulation disturb the metabolism of other lipoprotein classes, such as chylomicrons and remnants and HDL. Next-generation sequencing can improve familial hypercholesterolemia molecular diagnosis due to its better performance and lower costs than usual techniques. Despite this, roughly 40% of familial hypercholesterolemia patients do not present mutations on the LDLR, apolipoprotein B, or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 genes. Many individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia phenotype have polygenic instead of monogenic cause of their elevated LDL-C concentrations. Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia show elevated burden of subclinical atherosclerosis. The intensity of atherosclerosis burden is associated with the severity of LDLR mutation rather than maternal or paternal heritability. Newer-approved and on-development medications that reduce LDL-C hold promise for preventing cardiovascular disease in familial hypercholesterolemia.

SUMMARY: Familial hypercholesterolemia is frequent and currently underdiagnosed and undertreated, but effective cascade screening programs and early and intensive LDL-C lowering can change this picture and the natural history of the disease.