[Circadian meal-related changes in serum lipoprotein levels in normal subjects (author's transl)]

Circadian variations in serum lipoprotein levels in relation to meals were investigated in 10 healthy subjects on a normal diet. Lunch and dinner produced a concomitant increase in triglycerides and the apo-B of very low density lipoproteins (d less than 1.006). The increase observed after dinner was of the same degree as after lunch but was more prolonged; this longer duration was unrelated to the nocturnal increase in free fatty acids. Apo-A1 levels also rose slightly after lunch and dinner, and so did HDL-cholesterol which, however, decreased during the night. These results suggest that in normal subjects the intravascular lipolytic activity is reduced during the night.