Q: My 63 years old father's lipid profile and other biochemical tests show cholesterol (enzymatic colorimetric method) - 220.78 mg/dl, triglycerides (GPO POD) - 226.09 mg/dl, HDL (enzymatic colorimetric method) - 45.19 mg/dl, LDL (spectrophotometry) - 130.38 mg/dl, VLDL (spectrophotometry) - 45.21 mg/dl, LDL/HDL (enzymatic colorimetric method) - 2.88, s. cholesterol/HDL - 4.88, blood sugar fasting - 110.1 mg/dl, uric acid - 6.32 mg/dl and serum creatinine - 0.72 mg/dl. Do these readings reflect normal health? His weight is 74 kg and height is 5.3 feet. Can taking cholesterol-reducing medicines control this?

A:Your father’s main problem is high triglycerides and a little bit higher than normal fasting blood sugar. It would be worth testing the blood for sugar two hours after main meal (called post-prandial, PP). The initial treatment for high triglycerides should invariably be exercise (about 45 minutes of brisk walk at least 5 days a week), low fat diet and moderate reduction in weight because 74kg for a male of 5'3" is certainly undesirable (it should be more like 65-66kg). Such a reduction coupled with diet control and exercise will bring down both triglycerides and blood sugar. If after 3-4 months, a repeat serum lipids level is still high, then fenofibrate such as Lipicard 200mg once daily with food can be given. However, it must be in conjunction with diet control and exercise.