Severe type III hyperlipoproteinemia in two patients maintained on chronic hemodialysis.

Two patients with severe hyperlipidemia receiving long-term hemodialysis were classified as type III hyperlipoproteinemic subjects. They are homozygous for apolipoprotein E2 and have an elevated VLDL-cholesterol/plasma-triglyceride ratio. The dyslipoproteinemia was severely aggravated by the renal failure, but careful treatment with bezafibrate was able to effectively lower elevated serum lipids. Accurate diagnosis of lipid abnormalities in patients with chronic renal failure seems to be necessary to plan appropriate therapeutic interventions and to lower the risk for accelerated atherosclerosis.