The desired trends in preventing or slowing the onset of atherosclerosis would be to:
- Decrease the foam cell activities
- Increase the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis by statins
- Increase the LDL receptors of the liver.
Explanation:
The foam cells, statins, and LDL receptors play a major role in the initiation, occurence, spread and prevention of atherosclerosis by regulating intracellular cholesterol accumulation.
The inflow, esterification and outflow of cholesterol trigger the activities of the macrophagic foam cell. When inflow is increased, it adheres to lipoproteins of blood vessels and becomes foamy and forms atherosclerotic plaques.
Statins are drugs that act by inhibiting or reducing the activities of HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme that takes part in cholesterol biosynthesis.
LDL receptors in the liver eliminate LDL cholesterol from the body through bile. Statins tend increase the level of LDL receptors which in turn reduces LDL cholesterol
.
