MEASUREMENT OF PROPENSITY TO ATHEROSCLEROSIS; OXIDIZABILITY OF OLEFINIC RESIDUES OF PLASMA LIPOPROTEINS AND LIPIDS

摘要

A method is disclosed for assessing atherosclerotic risk in a living patient. A sample of bodily fluid, such as plasma, is subjected to carbon-13 or proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to generate a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum. The olefinic residue region of the spectrum is identified and its area calculated. The patient's plasma is then oxidized and a second NMR spectrum is obtained and the area of the olefinic region calculated. The two areas are then integrated and compared. The patient's atherosclerotic risk is classified as either normal or advanced depending on the decrease in olefinic area from the spectrum obtained from an unoxidized plasma sample to the spectrum obtained from an oxidized plasma sample.