CHOLESTEROL CONTENT OF CIRCULATING IMMUNE-COMPLEXES IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY STENOSIS AND SUBJECTS WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

The biological variation factors for cholesterol in circulating immune complexes (CIC-cholesterol) were studied in 941 unselected supposedly healthy volunteers, ages 4 to 78 years. We found a complex effect of age, including the existence of two peaks of CIC-cholesterol, one in m ales between 11 and 14 years and in females between 11 and 30 years, a nd in both sexes another peak between 41 and 60 years, and in both sex es a decrease between 31 and 40 years. By use of multiple regression a nalysis and after adjustment for age, CIC-cholesterol was positively r elated to plasma cholesterol concentration and leukocyte count, values being lower in females than in males and among subjects taking anti-i nflammatory drugs. In addition, CIC-cholesterol was measured in 76 cor onary angiography patients and in 100 supposedly healthy controls, age s 30 to 77 years. We noticed a significant increase (P less than or eq ual to 0.05) of CIC-cholesterol when patients were affected by coronar y stenosis between 20% and 50% (71.8 +/- 52.5 mu mol/L vs 46.2 +/- 45. 9 mu mol/L in controls), but this was less pronounced in those with >5 0% of obstruction (58.9 +/- 54.3 mu mol/L); however, serum total chole sterol was not modified or even surprisingly slightly decreased in the coronary angiography individuals. Nevertheless, an important overlap of values in controls and patients makes questionable the usefulness o f this variable in clinical practice.