Jcmainfinity wrote:I was just kind of confused of her lab difference.. I use quest and they measure the same way so a reading of 205 and then 75 is a pretty drastic drop.
FWIW, Lp(a) is reported in either nmol/L and mg/dL, which can be confusing. There are various conversion approximations on the internets, apparently they're pretty flawed. From Lp(a) Measurements for Clinical Application
Based on Lp(a) mass composition analyses performed in our laboratory, we found that by taking the
average of the Lp(a) non-protein component, the conversion factor for transforming Lp(a) values from
nmol/L to mg/dL varied from 2.85 for a small apo(a) size to 1.85 for a large one (26). To familiarize the
physicians with the use of nmol/L, we suggested the use of a mean conversion factor of 2.4 even though
we cautioned the users about the limitation and the inaccuracy of such factor. Based on different
computations of the Lp(a) mass, several higher conversion factors were suggested (28,29). Based on the
data we obtained using the same method but different calibrators, we found that to harmonize the Lp(a)
values in mg/dL to those obtained by the ELISA reference method in nmol/L, the mean conversion factor
was 2.02 for one assay and 1.67 for the other, substantially lower than the 2.4 factor we suggested.
However, if we would apply the proposed higher conversion factors of 3.17 or 3.3 to the values obtained
in mg/dL, the resulting values in nmol/L would be almost double the values traceable to the WHO/IFCC
reference material. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the practice of using a conversion factor,
irrespectively on how it was calculated, should be discontinued.
So my 348 nmol/L result from Quest might also show up as something like 122 mg/dL, or 188 mg/dL, or some other higher or lower number. (All of them pretty bad though...)
I should have labeled the 75 mg at Lab Corp and 205 nmol/L, both double normal. Just to add to confusion, once Quest reported zero ("not detected") lp(a), but after this report, the result has been consistently 150-200. As expected, no change with statins, niacin, lysine or vitamin C. Once I found a reference implying that extremely high HDL, mine runs over 100, can interfere with the lp(a) reading, but I have not seen this validated.
Just saw this post, and thought I'd share as a fellow Lp(a) overachiever! I found out about my ApoE4 (1 allele) and Lp(a) about the same time, late 2016 shortly before my mom died of Alzheimer's/TIAs at age 75. My Lp(a) was 79 mg/dl (along with elevated LDL particles, etc). I changed to a Dr. Gundry style diet for ApoE4 (no dairy, meat, low carb., etc) and have been taking 1,000 mg Slo Niacin daily. On my first and second year re-tests, my doctor was ecstatic about the reduction in the nasty lipoproteins - Lp(a) fell to 49 the first year, and most recently, to 40! Not in the great range, but better. I really think the combination of diet and Slo Niacin are responsible for this. If you have a chance to listen to Dr. Attia's podcasts on lipid metabolism topic, they are really helpful.
Just saw this post, and thought I'd share as a fellow Lp(a) overachiever! I found out about my ApoE4 (1 allele) and Lp(a) about the same time, late 2016 shortly before my mom died of Alzheimer's/TIAs at age 75. My Lp(a) was 79 mg/dl (along with elevated LDL particles, etc). I changed to a Dr. Gundry style diet for ApoE4 (no dairy, meat, low carb., etc) and have been taking 1,000 mg Slo Niacin daily. On my first and second year re-tests, my doctor was ecstatic about the reduction in the nasty lipoproteins - Lp(a) fell to 49 the first year, and most recently, to 40! Not in the great range, but better. I really think the combination of diet and Slo Niacin are responsible for this. If you have a chance to listen to Dr. Attia's podcasts on lipid metabolism topic, they are really helpful.
Hi dkuklinski!
Thanks so much for posting and sharing your results. I too missed the original thread-- and the discussion prompted me to go back to compare my own labs from 2018 to now. It's exciting how quickly information is evolving about Lifestyle medicine and ApoE status-- and thankfully we all have science-backed directives to follow-- something our parent's missed (I also had a parent who passed away in 2017 from Alzheimer's-- was only 74). It sounds like you're pretty familiar with this website, but if you have an opportunity to check out the primer written by a doctor from our community, it is chocked full of really useful information. However, my go-to is the wiki page. And feel free to share more of your history on Our Stories.
