Future Goals, Targets, and Treatments of Dyslipidemia

Lower is better. Building on other recent evidence, several studies presented at the 53rd Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in March 2004 drove home this very direct message about low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, professor of medicine, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, and clinical director, Section of Atherosclerosis and Lipoprotein Research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, chaired an evening symposium on Future Goals, Targets, and Treatments of Dyslipidemia.

The symposium was sponsored by the Health Science Center for Continuing Medical Education and supported by an educational grant from Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.

The other faculty members were: Neil J. Stone, MD, professor of clinical medicine, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago; David E. Cohen, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and biochemistry, Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York; and Ira Tabas, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and anatomy and cell biology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and attending physician of medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York.

Also included in this issue are reports from late-breaking clinical trial presentations on lipid-lowering therapy and a commentary by Cary Sennett, MD, PhD, on the implications of these findings from the managed care perspective. Dr Sennett is vice president, research and development and chief innovation officer, Ingenix Decision Support Solutions, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.