Significance of HDL- and LDL-cholesterol in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction

Abstract

High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were measured by a modified heparin-calcium method in 16 male patients with cerebral infarction confirmed by computerized tomography (CT) and in 15 male healthy subjects served as controls.
1) The patients with cerebral infarcts had significantly lower level of the HDL cholesterol than the controls.
2) The 7 cases with cerebral infarcts in the cortical arterial system determined by CT, showed more significantly lower ratio of HDL cholesterol to LDL cholesterol value than in 9 cases with infarctions in the perforating arterial regions.
It is therefore suggested that the significance of HDL cholesterol as a negative risk factor of cerebral infarction may differ according to the sites of vascular lesions.