BIRMINGHAM, AL, USA I September 4, 2013 I Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, today announced a strategic research collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease.
The partnership pairs Atherotech’s Very Large Database of Lipids (VLDL) with Johns Hopkins’ world-class cardiac research capabilities. The project’s goal is to generate new knowledge through research, and translate that knowledge into clinical practice in the fight against cardiovascular disease.
“This unique collaboration initiative joins Atherotech Diagnostics Lab’s valuable VLDL dataset with Johns Hopkins’ tremendous human capital and expertise,” said Atherotech CEO Michael Mullen. “With more than 8 million individual samples of multiple cardiovascular disease biomarkers, our VLDL database represents one of the largest diagnostic testing databases of its kind in the world, capable of advancing heart disease research and improving patient treatment and outcomes.”
Using its proprietary VAP® Lipid Panel, Atherotech is the only company to consistently assess cholesterol-rich risk with directly measured LDL, HDL and subclasses; triglyceride-rich risk in remnant lipoproteins; and hereditary risk with Lp(a) — all of which are represented in the total VLDL database of 8 million samples. The current research VLDL dataset has 1.4 million data points representing unique individuals, with more than 3 million data points anticipated for the next data harvest.
Steven R. Jones, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, said the missions of both organizations blend nicely.
“Atherotech’s organization is committed to a comprehensive yet practical lipid profile, and our research group’s emphasis is on high-impact, clinically relevant research,” Jones said.
Working on the VLDL with Atherotech was initially a proof-of-principle project to identify clinically pertinent questions that could directly impact practice patterns, Jones said.
“We’ve come to the point where the project has produced several important published studies in influential journals, including ones examining conventional lipid studies of Friedewald estimated versus directly measured LDL cholesterol, published in last week’s JACC,” Jones continued.
The Estimated v. Direct LDL-C study in the August 20 Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) compared the accuracy of calculated LDL cholesterol measurement using the traditional basic lipid panel to directly measured LDL cholesterol using Atherotech’s VAP Lipid Panel. One of the most valuable conclusions researchers found was that nearly 60 percent of at-risk patients with basic lipid panel LDL below 70 mg/dL and triglycerides over 200 were misclassified using the basic lipid panel. The study examined more than 1.3 million VLDL samples and is the largest of its kind to evaluate basic lipid panel estimation of LDLc relative to direct measurement.
For information on Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, visit www.Atherotech.com or call 877-901-8510. Health care professionals interested in real patient cases and lipidology commentary may visit www.CobblesCorner.com, Atherotech’s official blog. Atherotech is on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Atherotech, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Atherotech, and broadcasting at www.YouTube.com/user/VAPatherotech.
About Atherotech Diagnostics Lab & the VAP®+ Lipid Panel
Atherotech Diagnostics Lab is a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions. Atherotech’s proprietary and comprehensive VAP®+ Lipid Panel enables clinicians to accurately stratify a patient’s cardiovascular risk and deliver personalized treatment strategies to improve health outcomes. The Vertical Auto Profile (VAP+) technology reveals residual cardiometabolic risk as recommended in the NCEP ATP III, ADA/ACC Joint Consensus and AACE guidelines. The VAP+ utilizes direct measurement to identify cholesterol, triglyceride and genetic lipid disorders. The company’s dedication to affordable, comprehensive disease management solutions includes Our Healthy HeartTM, a patient consultation program and expert lipid management education service to health care providers. For more information, please visit www.Atherotech.com or call 1-866-VAP-TEST.
About the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease
Founded in 1990, the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at Johns Hopkins University is committed to conducting leading-edge clinical and basic research on atherosclerosis and risk factors for heart disease. Named in honor of Henry Ciccarone, a legendary athlete and lacrosse coach at Johns Hopkins who died of sudden cardiac death at age 50, the center has become one of the world’s premier clinical research centers for heart disease prevention. The center’s trademark comprehensive approach involves both global assessment and aggressive management of multiple risk factors. It has a three-fold mission: to provide excellent patient evaluation and care; to educate doctors and other health practitioners about how to better identify and care for those at risk of heart disease; and to conduct rigorous research to advance the field. For more information, please visit http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heart or call 410-955-7376.
SOURCE: Atherotech
