It is a fact that Glycated LDL is higher in diabetic people than nondiabetics. However, a recently study has proven that Glycated levels increase risks of heart attacks in both diabetic people and persons without diabetes.

Online edition of "Nutrition, metabolism and cardiovascular diseases" published results of this study in December 2006; this one showed that people with the highest levels of LDL have twice the risk of having a heart attack and this is for diabetics and those who are not.

Diabetes is a risk factor for heart attack and myocardial infarction might be associated with Glycated LDL, this one is more easily oxidized than normal LDL and more easily metabolized by macrophages.

This is because the sugar molecule attached to the apoprotein B - An apoprotein is a protein without its characteristic prosthetic group - of LDL interferes with the link of the apoprotein with its membram receptor.

Macrophage is a large immune cell that devours invading pathogens and other intruders. It stimulates other immune cells by presenting them with small pieces of the invader. Macrophages can harbor large quantities of HIV without being killed, acting as reservoirs of the virus and finally yet importantly, macrophages are precursors of foam cells of the atherosclerosis plaque.

Glycated apoprotein B is present also in nondiabetic and its increase might be due to temporary hyperglycemia caused by a high-glycemic-load meal, by stress and by other conditions.

All participants of the study had blood samples taken, such as

-Levels of fasting glucose

-Insulin

-Cholesterol

-Triglycerides

-HDL; the good cholesterol

-LDL and

-Glycated LDL

People who had had heart attack and those who had not were measured; the only component that was higher in both diabetic and nondiabetic cases was Glycated LDL.

Nevertheless, these findings need to be confirmed and if the relationship is confirmed, interventions aimed at lowering the glycation of lipoproteins - a combination of fat and protein that transports lipids (fats) in the blood - should be organized to test whether such intervention can lower the risk of coronary heart disease.

At time, it is advisable for everyone - diabetic or not - take a blood sample checking specifically for Glycated LDL.

Of 4.452 participants who had not had a heart attack when the study began, 103 people developed a heart attack within five years; 34 of those were diabetic at the start and 69 were not.