Medicine Grand Rounds, Katya Rubinow “Can Sex Steroids Help Elucidate the Utility of HDL As an Index of Cardiovascular Risk?”

In epidemiologic studies, sex steroid deficiency predicts cardiovascular risk in both men and women, but the utility of hormone replacement therapy for reducing cardiovascular risk remains uncertain. Exogenous sex steroids regulate plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), but little is known about sex steroid-mediated effects on other metrics of HDL composition and function. Understanding the roles of sex steroids in regulating the function and composition of HDL particles may lend new insight into the cardioprotective potential of hormone replacement therapy and, further, may help elucidate the utility of HDL-based metrics for predicting cardiovascular risk on an individual basis.

Katya Rubinow, MD, is a board-certified physician at the Endocrinology/Diabetes Clinic at Harborview and a University of Washington assistant professor of Medicine and Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition. Dr. Rubinow cares for patients with diabetes, thyroid disease and a broad spectrum of other endocrine disorders. She strives to help patients feel supported and understood and to provide information that will enable them to be powerful advocates for their own health.

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