Early intermittent cholesterol exposure accelerates atherosclerosis: an oscillating amplifier calling for preemptive control

Abstract

A recent publication in Nature¹ identified early intermittent hyperlipidemia as a new determinant of atherosclerosis driving an altered phenotype of arterial-resident macrophages with defects in autophagy- and efferocytosis-related pathways. These intriguing findings infer the need for preemptive control of cholesterol already at younger age to prevent and limit atherosclerosis.