A 12-year-old patient was found to have blood serum cholesterol at the rate of 25 mmol/l. The boy has a history of hereditary familial hypercholesterolemia, which is caused by the impaired synthesis of the following protein receptors:

Answer options

1. High density lipoproteins
2. Chylomicrons
3. Very low density lipoproteins
4. Low density lipoproteins
5. Intermediate density lipoproteins

Explanation

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder. It is caused by a defect on chromosome 19. The defect makes the body unable to remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol from the blood. This results in a high level of LDL in the blood.