TRANSIENT NEONATAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA - LACK OF RELATIONSHIPS WITH DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULFATE

In order to obtain new information about the relationship between tran sient neonatal hypercholesterolemia and adrenal gland function, we hav e studied 39 healthy babies found hypercholesterolemic at birth and 39 healthy controls with normal cholesterol levels. The results of this study have shown that levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in cord blood were not significantly different in the hypercholesterolemic su bjects compared with normolipidemic controls (1.4 +/- 0.5 mug/dl vs 1. 3 +/- 0.5 mu/dl). Moreover correlations between this hormone and level s of total and LDL-cholesterol were not only not statistically signifi cant but even positive (respectively r = +0.207 and +0.195). These dat a suggest that dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate measurements in cord blo od do not give any further information about transient neonatal hyperc holesterolemia.