Editing Low-density lipoprotein (section)

===LDL size patterns===
LDL can be grouped based on its size: large low-density LDL particles are described as ''pattern A'', and small high-density ("small dense") LDL particles are ''pattern B''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=When it comes to LDL, size matters |url=https://gethlth.com/when-it-comes-to-ldl-size-matters/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=HLTH Code |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Pattern B'' has been associated by some with a higher risk for [[Coronary artery disease]].<ref name="pmid28572872" />{{rp|1–10}} This is thought to be because the smaller particles are more easily able to penetrate the [[endothelium]] of [[artery|arterial walls]]. ''Pattern I'', or ''intermediate'', indicates that most LDL particles are very close in size to the normal gaps in the endothelium (26&nbsp;nm). According to one study, sizes 19.0–20.5&nbsp;nm were designated as pattern B and LDL sizes 20.6–22&nbsp;nm were designated as pattern A.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhalodkar |first1=Narendra C. |last2=Blum |first2=Steve |last3=Rana |first3=Thakor |last4=Kitchappa |first4=Radha |last5=Bhalodkar |first5=Ami N. |last6=Enas |first6=Enas A. |date=1 May 2005 |title=Comparison of high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol subclasses and sizes in Asian Indian women with Caucasian women from the Framingham offspring study |journal=Clin Cardiol |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=247–251 |doi=10.1002/clc.4960280510 |pmc=6654695 |pmid=15971461}}</ref>

Some evidence suggests the correlation between pattern B and coronary artery disease is stronger than the correspondence between the LDL number measured in the standard lipid profile test. Tests to measure these LDL subtype patterns have been more expensive and not widely available, so the standard lipid profile test is used more often.<ref name="pmid28572872">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Ivanova EA, Myasoedova VA, Melnichenko AA, Grechko AV, Orekhov AN |year=2017 |title=Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein as Biomarker for Atherosclerotic Diseases |journal=[[List of Hindawi academic journals#O|Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity]] |volume=2017 |issue=10 |pages=1273042 |doi=10.1155/2017/1273042 |pmc=5441126 |pmid=28572872 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

There has also been noted a correspondence between higher triglyceride levels and higher levels of smaller, denser LDL particles and alternately lower triglyceride levels and higher levels of the larger, less dense ("buoyant") LDL.<ref name="pmid12417832">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Superko HR, Nejedly M, Garrett B |year=2002 |title=Small LDL and its clinical importance as a new CAD risk factor: a female case study |journal=Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=167–73 |doi=10.1111/j.0889-7204.2002.01453.x |pmid=12417832}}</ref><ref name="Warnick" />

With continued research, decreasing cost, greater availability, and wider acceptance of other ''lipoprotein subclass analysis'' assay methods, including [[NMR spectroscopy]], research studies have shown a stronger correlation between clinically evident human cardiovascular events and quantitatively measured particle concentrations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Otvos J |date=June 1999 |title=Measurement of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy |journal=Clin Cardiol |volume=22 |issue=6 Suppl |pages=II21–7 |doi=10.1002/clc.4960221405 |pmc=6655988 |pmid=10376193}}</ref>