Click here to support the project
Greetings everyone,
On Friday at Low Carb Houston, I announced the launch of the Citizen Science Foundation, a vehicle for helping us privately raise funds for its central endeavor, the Lean Mass Hyper-responder Measurement Project.
The Lean Mass Hyper-responder (LMHR) phenotype is a strong profile to test the lipid hypothesis, which posits levels of cholesterol in the blood are linked to the development of heart disease. The cut point for LDL cholesterol starts as 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L) and higher, with many having levels well into the 400s and 500s:
- LDL-C ≥ 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmolL)
- Typically LDL-P ≥ 2,000 nmol/L
Yet they commonly have very low cardiovascular risk markers across the board:
- High HDL cholesterol
- Low Triglycerides
- Low Insulin levels
- Low waist-to-hip ratio
- Low blood pressure
- Low Inflammatory Markers
- Low HOMA-IR
Moreover, most LMHRs who report having done their genetic testing have confirmed little to no connection with Familial Hypercholesterolemia. (For more on LMHRs, visit here)
Asking the Community to Help Us Advance Science
The Lean Mass Hyper-responder Measurement Project will help to match a portion of LMHRs with advanced testing they could otherwise get on their own through their doctor — but can be costly.
- Such metrics may include wide spectrum blood panels and cardiovascular testing such as CT Angiogram, Carotid Intima Media Thickness (CIMT), and Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) score.
- For those who have little to no detectable atherosclerotic risk at baseline, we would seek to capture their data again in five years with the same tests for a comparison.
- LMHRs who participate are not in any way asked to take any treatment action now or in the future. And any medical decisions made are between themselves and their doctor.
- Note that participants will likely need to travel to the location where the initial baseline tests taken, and potentially again in five years. This ensures greater comparison between participants and negotiating a better price for the tests involved through bulk rates. The exact tests and host facilities are still being worked out and will depend on how much we raise.
Again, for emphasis — this wouldn’t be a study itself, it’s a project to help capture this data for LMHRs and provide the opportunity for them to share it for science. That said, it could set up future opportunities for retrospectives studies, and we are confident it would be of great interest to the general public, especially the low carb community.
Just contributed to the cause. Best wishes for pushing science along in the direction of facts.
Dave I was not sure how to contact you regarding this. I have some blood work that i received yesterday (and from last year also) that I think you would be very interested. I am definitely a lean mass hyper responder and would love some feed back. LDL yesterday was 659 for example. Thank you for your help. Have a great day.
Hi – you could post the results on this site in a comment for him to see, or you could use the contact page if you are interested about the measurement project. Although we won’t be looking for participants until the funding is finalized. Another option is joining the Lean Mass Hyper-responder facebook page – as it’s likely that updates would be posted there as well.
Low Triglycerides is listed twice. Is something missing?
Might I propose NMR Small LDL-P? (also missing)
Ah, thanks for pointing that out! I’ll be sure that is fixed. 🙂
As for the small LDL-P, what’s listed is just a sampling of commonalities between LMHRs, not an exhaustive list. I’m sure there are many more that we’ve missed!
I am so impressed by the research you’re undertaking. Advice from any on how to work with Dr who are behind the times and stuck in old dogma. My numbers are alarming to him and I’m trying to provide critical research but other suggestions are welcome.
I think it mostly depends on the doctor and how receptive they are, but I’ve found with my doctor that I’ve gotten far by being respectful, highlighting that I respect their opinion, and hope to work together as a team to help me stay healthy. I also bring in study abstracts with pertinent points I’d like to mention (only the abstract/summary, with the title/author/DOI visible so they can read the full paper if they want to) with the key points highlighted. I do this so I have published research to back what I’m discussing, but make sure it’s nothing overly long to read to respect their time.
I suggest you have the participants of your study also have an eye exam to evaluate the blood vessels surrounding the retina. An eye doctor can detect plaque buildup in the blood vessels and give you a good idea as to your stroke risk. They can take a high resolution photo of the vessels and determine if there are any changes over the 5 year duration of your study.
Interesting idea! Of course the details of the measurement project (not a formalized study, which is worth mentioning) are still in the works as far as what will be tested – I will be sure to pass this idea on.