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The prevalence of dyslipidaemia has been increasing in the Asia-Pacific region and this is attributed to dietary changes and decreasing physical activity. While there has been substantial progress in dyslipidaemia therapy, its management in the region is hindered by limitations in awareness, adherence and healthcare costs. The Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (APSC) developed these consensus recommendations to address the need for a unified approach to managing dyslipidaemia. These recommendations are intended to guide general cardiologists and internists in the assessment and treatment of dyslipidaemia and are hoped to pave the way for improving screening, early diagnosis and treatment. The APSC expert panel reviewed and appraised the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Consensus recommendations were developed, which were then put to an online vote. The resulting consensus recommendations tackle contemporary issues in the management of dyslipidaemia, familial hypercholesterolaemia and lipoprotein(a) in the Asia-Pacific region.

Recently, it was reported that naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoids such as ursolic acid have anti-adiposity property. We studied if acetyl-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), an established anti-inflammation and anti-cancer pentacyclic triterpenoid which has similar chemical structure to ursolic acid, may modulate adipocyte phenotype. 3T3-L1 murine adipocytes and human subcutaneous adipocytes were treated with AKBA in different concentrations in vitro. AKBA triggered significant lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes as shown by reduced neutral lipids in cytosol and increased free fatty acids in culture medium. Increased lipolysis by AKBA was accompanied by up-regulation of lipolytic enzymes, adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), and a decreased expression of lipid droplet stability regulator perilipin. In addition, AKBA treatment reduced phenotypic markers of mature adipocyte aP2, adiponectin and glut-4 in mature adipocytes. Further studies revealed that AKBA down-regulated PPAR-γ and C/EBP-α expression in a dose and temporal dependent manner in mature adipocytes. In human adipocytes, AKBA likewise mobilized lipolysis accompanied by down-regulation of PPAR-γ2 expression and loss of phenotypic markers of mature adipocytes.