Evidence in the treatment of dyslipidemia in the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors as characteristic and correlated with cardiovascular disease and the development of the diabetes mellitus. The characters of dyslipidemia are the hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. As to the patient having a cardiovascular disease (such as coronary artery disease, stroke, or peripheral artery occlusion) or the diabetes mellitus, the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III suggests reducing the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with statin. However, there remains a relatively high residual risk of morbidity or mortality in patients with the metabolic syndrome or diabetes mellitus, and this is of growing importance because of the increasing prevalence of obesity and its associated comorbidities in the world. The treatment to achieve aggressive goals is of paramount importance. This article reviews pathophysiology and emerging therapeutic strategies for the management of dyslipidemia in patients with the metabolic syndrome.