Current situation of lipoprotein apheresis in Saxony

This paper summarizes the situation pertinent to treatment via lipoprotein apheresis in the federal state of Saxony, Germany in 2010. In total, 119 predominately male patients were treated in 10 centers; the majority of the patients was older than the mean age of the general population. Several risk factors were present, particularly a familial predisposition and hypertension. All patients had experienced cardiovascular events and the majority was taking statins. Patient data from the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden concurred with data derived from patients treated at nephrological practices. In the mean, patients attended the centers for about 6 years, the majority weekly. LDL cholesterol concentrations prior to apheresis were clearly higher than target levels; apheresis sessions decreased LDL cholesterol by 69%. Lipoprotein(a) levels could be measured in 75 patients and were effectively reduced by lipoprotein apheresis. In Saxony, 29 patients per 1 million inhabitants received lipoprotein apheresis, which is higher than the proportion of patients treated in Germany as a whole. The need for this extracorporeal treatment seems to be much greater than its current utilization. Among the patients only one homozygous patient with familial hypercholesterolemia was observed. Physicians should be actively informed about this therapeutic possibility to reduce the cardiovascular risk efficiently. The introduction of new drugs may alter the position of lipoprotein apheresis within the therapeutic spectrum.