Hamster Hypercholesterolemia Model Now Available

Oct 07 2013

Hypercholesterolemia, or elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood, affect an estimated 20-40% of the adult population and can be attributed to 2.6 million deaths annually worldwide. The presence of blood lipid lowering agents (statins, fibrates, binding agents) is widespread among treatment regimes provided to adults along with recommendations of lifestyle changes. As many drug discovery groups are still pursuing new molecular entities to treat elevated cholesterol, Charles River now offers a model of hypercholesterolemia in the hamster.
 
The Golden Syrian hamster is a well-established species for the study of lipoprotein profiles. It translates to human outcomes because the species carries the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). The lipoprotein profile of hamsters as well as their response to standard clinical therapies is similar to that of human patients. It was in this light that Charles River recently validated the model presented below.

Male Golden Syrian hamsters were placed on a purified chow diet with 0.5% added cholesterol and two different dose levels of Ezetimibe, a known inhibitor of cholesterol absorption. A serum lipid profile was checked weekly for a period of four weeks. A significant decrease in serum cholesterol was seen with the high dose of Ezetimibe as early as week 1 of treatment and that effect carried out throughout the study.  

To learn more about this study model, please contact us at askcharlesriver@crl.com or at 1.877.CRIVER.1.