The purpose of this study is to better understand the changes in cholesterol levels, the blood vessels, and overall health of children and adults with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH).

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is a rare (~1 in 1,000,000) inherited (genetic) disorder that is usually due to a double mutation in the gene for the Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) receptor.

The disease causes very high levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol to accumulate in the blood and the lining of arteries starting from birth because the liver cannot clear the LDL cholesterol from the blood. As a result, if untreated, heart attacks and sudden death occur in childhood. Because patients with this disorder do not respond enough to diet and cholesterol lowering drugs, other specialized cholesterol-lowering treatments are required, such as LDL-apheresis, portacaval shunt, or liver transplantation. However, because the disease is so rare, there is not a lot of information about which treatment is best at which stage of cardiovascular disease.

With consent, clinical information including cholesterol levels, medications, tests of the heart and family history will be entered into a database. In addition, photos will be obtained of cholesterol deposits in the skin (xanthomas), if present. A small amount of blood will be stored for future testing of DNA, RNA and markers of blood vessel disease.

We cannot guarantee that participants will benefit directly from participation in this repository.

However, participants and others may benefit in the future by the increased understanding that this information may give us about hoFH.

Eligibility:
Children and adults with an untreated LDL cholesterol of greater than 500 mg/dL
Detailed eligibility provided when you contact the study team

Fore more information visit www.rogosin.org