1. Lp(a): When and how to measure it
- Author
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Jaimini Cegla, Michael France, Santica M Marcovina, and R Dermot G Neely
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Size heterogeneity ,Traceability ,Standardization ,Clinical Biochemistry ,Disease ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Risk Assessment ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Lp(a) ,Risk Factors ,measurement of Lp(a) ,Medicine ,Humans ,measurement of lipoprotein(a) ,Intensive care medicine ,Review Articles ,biology ,business.industry ,General Medicine ,Lipoprotein(a) ,Risk factor (computing) ,Clinical Practice ,030104 developmental biology ,Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ,Cardiovascular Diseases ,biology.protein ,Disease risk ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,business - Abstract
Lipoprotein(a) has long been regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, its routine use in clinical practice has been hampered by difficulties inherent in the measurement of this complex lipoprotein. The major challenges relate to its size heterogeneity and related issues including (1) use of appropriate calibrators (2) standardization of calibration protocols (3) traceability and (4) reporting units. In the UK, results from the current EQA schemes for lipoprotein(a) suggest that there is considerable work required to standardize lipoprotein(a) measurement. This is becoming increasingly pertinent with the increasing recognition of lipoprotein(a) as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in international guidelines and the emergence of novel antisense therapies to effectively reduce lipoprotein(a). This article raises awareness of the importance of measurement of lipoprotein(a) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk and gives guidance to clinical laboratories regarding choice of appropriate assays.
- Published
- 2020