ABSTRACT
Lipidology is the study of abnormal lipid metabolism. An understanding of the pathophysiology of plasma lipid metabolism is usefully based on the concept of lipoproteins, the form in which lipids circulate in plasma. Triglycerides are transported from the intestine to various tissues, including the liver and adipose tissue, as lipoproteins. In some cases of hyperlipidaemia, the lipoprotein patterns have been classified according to their electrophoretic mobility. Ultracentrifugation or electrophoretic techniques are rarely used in routine clinical practice as these may require completed apparatus and experienced operators. Instead, the lipoprotein composition of plasma may be inferred from standard clinical laboratory lipid assays. High-density lipoprotein also contains other enzymes, including paroxanase, which may have an antioxidant role. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol is cardioprotective not only because of the reverse cholesterol transport system, which helps to remove cholesterol from the peripheral tissues. Low-density lipoprotein is a small cholesterol-rich lipoprotein containing only apoB.
