The risk
of hypercholesterolemia may be well known in adults, so its diagnosis and
treatment are particularly welcome and obvious in the 40s, but it is not
expected that there will be children with high cholesterol in the blood, which
later sets the stage for heart disease or stroke. Ischemic and even premature
death. The earlier detection and treatment of this ratio was a kind of definite
prevention of the body, according to the latest study on the impact of early diagnosis
and treatment of cholesterol in children.
-Genetic causes
A study
by scientists from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, published in
mid-October this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that
Statins could reduce the lives of statins. Long-term complications of increased
cholesterol.
This
family is one of the most popular drugs in the treatment of high cholesterol
level in adults, because of its effectiveness in reducing the rise, especially
harmful low-density LDL. It is known that the lower the volume and density of
cholesterol molecules can leak from the blood through the openings on the wall
of the arteries and deposited on them, which leads to later hardening and
narrowing of diameter, and this can lead to a lack of blood flow through them
to different parts of the body such as the brain and cause stroke or Heart and
cause angina.
The study
pointed out that the problem is that high cholesterol does not cause any
symptoms and the diagnosis depends mainly on laboratory analysis, and often do
not request these tests routinely when detected, as high cholesterol is not
uncommon in children, but also It is not rare, with up to one in 250 children.
The causes of hypercholesterolemia are basically familial genetic
hypercholesterolemia and begin at birth. The percentage of children diagnosed
early does not exceed 10 percent and the very high numbers of cholesterol
levels even in adults are genetic. An increase is considered as a result of
genes if the ratio exceeds 160 milligrams-deciliter in children. A safe and
healthy ratio is less than 100 mg-dl.
- Encouraging results
Researchers
conducted the trial of 214 children with high cholesterol for genetic reasons
in the late 1990s and a statin versus placebo trial for two years. Statin
therapy was only completed for 20 years and followed up as adults in their 30s,
after all, they were treated with moderate doses of the drug. As a result,
low-density (harmful) fat decreased significantly, and 20 percent of patients
had reduced their fat levels to safe levels (less than 100 mg-dl) and their
risk of heart disease and early death was significantly reduced, and almost
equal. With their natural peers, only 1 percent suffered from heart disease and
complications compared with 26 percent, which is the expected proportion of
children with genetic elevation.
No
patients died before age 39, compared to 7 percent in the past, which is a very
successful reduction in the risk of death from heart disease complications, as
well as the health of the arteries. And none of the arteries have narrowed or
hardened.
Although
treatment for high cholesterol is an effective solution to protect against
complications of atherosclerosis later, statin side effects must be taken into
account, the most important of which is the increased likelihood of type 2
diabetes, which in turn increases the likelihood of heart disease, especially Children should start taking the drug from childhood and stay with it for
life, which increases the period of exposure to side effects. However,
according to the study, only one patient who took the drug had type 2 diabetes,
a normal proportion that can occur even in healthy people.
The
importance of the study is that it draws attention to the need to pay attention
to the analysis of fat in children and not afraid of early start taking
treatment for high rates, especially since the long follow-up for 20 years
proved safety, thus encouraging many doctors to prescribe a statin for children,
where the last option Always in the past. The average doses of the drug did not
cause any side effects either diabetes or liver cell damage throughout the
treatment and liver function can be monitored continuously every period to
check on the health of the liver. Statin is eliminated through the liver, which
can adversely affect it.
The
researchers said it is not yet known whether it is possible to add another drug
to these patients in the future or not, in the case of non-response, and also
with the development of the emergence of cholesterol injections in the
experiment phase.