In order to analyse type IV hyperlipoproteinemia in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, cholesterol/apo B ratios in plasma VLDL and LDL were investigated in diabetics with type IV and type IIa hyperlipoproteinemia and in diabetics without hyperlipoproteinemia as well as in age- and sex-matched control subjects. Cholesterol/apo B was about 2.0 and almost similar between VLDL and LDL in controls, diabetics without hyperlipoproteinemia and diabetics with type ha hyperlipoproteinemia. On the contrary, cholesterol/apo B was increased to 3.0 in VLDL of diabetics with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia while the ratio was near 2.0 in LDL of those patients.
Therefore, there seems to be no direct precursorproduct relationship between VLDL and LDL particles in some of the non-insulin dependent diabetics with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. In such patients, the cholesterol-rich VLDL may be removed from the circulation and catabolized independently via beta-pathway.
