Hyperlipidemia Case Studies

Treatment of Hyperlipidemia with the use of Lipitor

The patient AC is a 79 year old white female. She is diagnosed with hyperlipidemia, a chronic condition that results from an excess accumulation of lipids in blood vessels. AC is currently taking Atorvastatin, the generic brand of Lipitor, to treat her high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. She stays active and tries to maintain a healthy diet, but does have other health issues such as hypertension, osteoarthritis, and diabetes. o Discuss biochemical/molecular biological/physiological basis of the disease

Hyperlipidemia can either be genetically inherited or caused by lifestyle habits such as obesity, unhealthy diet, and it certainly is more common in the elderly. Even though patients with this condition have no symptoms, homeostatic changes in the body such as both levels of triglycerol and cholesterol are elevated in the blood stream. The primary source of cholesterol is not from diet, but from liver synthesis. LDL receptors are important in maintaining LDL levels, also known as “bad” cholesterol. This is an example of an inherited disease where a deficiency in these receptors will

Atorvastatin is an example of a statin medication. The role of a statin is to inhibit HMG-coA reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme in endogenous cholesterol synthesis. The characteristics of statins include large hydrophobic groups which bind tightly and alter the conformation of the HMG-coA reductase enzyme. HMG-coA reductase catalyzes HMG-coA to mevalonate, which goes through a multi-step process that ultimately leads to cholesterol as a product. Also, statins are very effective because they bind tightly to the enzyme compared to the substrate to block the pathway of cholesterol synthesis. Another function is to upregulate LDL receptors which results in a reduction of plasma