Background: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is an important biomarker for determining cardiovascular risk and regulating lipid lowering therapy. Therefore, the accurate estimation of LDL-C concentration is essential in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and prognosis. Sampson recently proposed a new formula for the estimation of LDL-C. However, little is known regarding the validation of this formula. Objectives: This study aimed to validate this new formula with other well-known formulas in Turkish population, composed of adults. Methods: A total of 88,943 participants above 18 years old at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital (Sivas, Turkey) were included to this study. LDL-C was directly measured by homogeneous assays, i.e., Roche, Beckman and Siemens and estimated by Friedewald’s, Martin-Hopkins’, extended Martin-Hopkins’ and Sampson’s formulas. The concordances between the estimations obtained by the formulas and the direct measurements were evaluated both in general and separately for the LDL-C, TG and non-HDL-C sublevels. Linear regression analysis was applied and residual error plots were generated between each estimation and direct measurement method. Coefficient of determination (R²) and mean absolute deviations were also calculated. Results: The results showed that the extended Martin-Hopkins approach provided the most concordant results with the direct assays for LDL-C estimation. The results also showed that the highest concordances were obtained between the direct assays with the extended Martin-Hopkins formula calculated with the median statistics obtained from our own population. On the other hand, it was observed that the results of the methods may differ in different assays. The extended Martin-Hopkins approach, calculated from the median statistics of our population, gave the most concordant results in patients with “low LDL-C level (LDL-C levels < 70 mg/dL) or hypertriglyceridemia (TG levels ≥ 400 mg/dL)”. Conclusions: Although the results of the formulas in different assays may vary, the extended Martin-Hopkins approach was the best one with the highest overall concordances. The validity of the Martin Hopkins’ and Sampson’s formulas has to be further investigated in different populations.

Background: One of the most promising and rapidly advancing research areas in recent years is using dermoscopic images for automatic diagnosis with artificial intelligence and machine learning methods. Objectives: This study aimed to synthesize the existing studies for the clinical use of applications made with artificial intelligence methods and to summarize the predictive performance of deep learning and hybrid models‐based algorithms in all these studies with a large‐scale meta‐analysis. Method: The literature review was conducted between January 2006 and May 2024, and meta‐analysis data were created by scanning the Web of Science (WOS), Scopus and MEDLINE databases. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Results: A total of 2722 articles were evaluated. Data from 78 diagnostic tests from 39 primary studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were assessed. The pooled SROC overall model AUC was 0.96 [95% CI: 0.94–0.98], sensitivity was 0.89 [95% CI: 0.85–0.91] and specificity was 0.92 [95% CI: 0.90–0.94]. In the subgroup analyses, the pooled AUC was 0.98 [95% CI: 0.96–0.99] for HYBRID models. Conclusions: Recent studies have suggested that artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning methods should be used extensively in medicine to assist physicians, especially in diagnosing melanoma. The ability of HYBRID model algorithms to predict diseases is promising. In particular, the performance of HYBRID models was found to be high. This information can assist clinicians in interpreting the most appropriate algorithms for diagnosing melanoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there were significant sex x time interactions in lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) response to treatment with the Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin type 9 inhibitor (PCSK9i) Evolocumab, in a real-life clinical setting. For this purpose, we pooled data from 176 outpatients (Men: 93; Women: 83) clinically evaluated at baseline and every six months after starting Evolocumab. Individuals who had been on PCSK9i for less than 30 months and nonadherent patients were excluded from the analysis. Over time, absolute values of Lp(a) plasma concentrations significantly decreased in the entire cohort (p-value < 0.001) and by sex (p-value < 0.001 in men and p-value = 0.002 in and women). However, there were no sex-related significant differences. Absolute plasma concentrations of LDL-C significantly decreased over time in the entire cohort and by sex (p-value < 0.001 always), with greater improvements in men compared to women. The sex x time interaction was statistically significant in LDL-C (all p-values < 0.05), while absolute changes in Lp(a) were not influenced by either sex or time (all p-value > 0.05). Our data partially reinforce the presence of differences in response to treatment to PCSK9i between men and women and are essential to gain a better understanding of the relationship between LDL-C and Lp(a) lowering in response to PCSK9i. Further research will clarify whether these sex-related significant differences translate into a meaningful difference in the long-term risk of ASCVD.

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a well-established biomarker in the management of dyslipidemia. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the concordance of LDL-C-estimating equations with direct enzymatic measurement in diabetic and prediabetic populations. The data of 31,031 subjects included in the study were divided into prediabetic, diabetic, and control groups according to HbA1c values. LDL-C was measured by direct homogenous enzymatic assay and calculated by Martin–Hopkins, Martin–Hopkins extended, Friedewald, and Sampson equations. The concordance statistics between the direct measurements and estimations obtained by the equations were evaluated. All equations evaluated in the study had lower concordance with direct enzymatic measurement in diabetic and prediabetic groups compared to the non-diabetic group. Even so, the Martin–Hopkins extended approach demonstrated the highest concordance statistic in diabetic and prediabetic patients. Further, Martin–Hopkins extended was found to have the highest correlation with direct measurement compared with other equations. Over the 190 mg/dL LDL-C concentrations, the equation with the highest concordance was again Martin–Hopkins extended. In most scenarios, the Martin–Hopkins extended performed best in prediabetic and diabetic groups. Additionally, direct assay methods can be used at low values of the non-HDL-C/TG ratio (<2.4), as the performance of the equations in LDL-C estimation decreases as non-HDL-C/TG decreases.

Background: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is an important biomarker for determining cardiovascular risk and regulating lipid lowering therapy. Therefore, the accurate estimation of LDL-C concentration is essential in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and prognosis. Sampson recently proposed a new formula for the estimation of LDL-C. However, little is known regarding the validation of this formula. Objectives: This study aimed to validate this new formula with other well-known formulas in Turkish population, composed of adults. Methods: A total of 88,943 participants above 18 years old at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital (Sivas, Turkey) were included to this study. LDL-C was directly measured by homogeneous assays, i.e., Roche, Beckman and Siemens and estimated by Friedewald’s, Martin/Hopkins’, extended Martin/Hopkins’ and Sampson’s formulas. The accuracies between the estimations obtained by the formulas and the direct measurements were evaluated both in general and separately for the LDL-C, TG and non-HDL-C sublevels. Linear regression analysis was applied and residual error plots were generated between each estimation and direct measurement method. Coefficient of determination ( R ² ) and mean absolute deviations were also calculated. Results: The results showed that the extended Martin/Hopkins approach was the overall most accurate approach for LDL-C estimation. The results also showed that the highest concordances were obtained between the direct assays with the extended Martin/Hopkins formula calculated with the median statistics obtained from our own population. On the other hand, it was observed that the results of the methods may differ in different assays. Although the best performance was obtained by the Sampson formula in patients with “low LDL-C level and hypertriglyceridemia”, the extended Martin/Hopkins approach, calculated from the median statistics of our population, gave the most accurate results in patients with “low LDL-C level or hypertriglyceridemia”. Conclusions: In conclusion, in patients with a low LDL-C level or hypertriglyceridemia, the extended Martin/Hopkins method; in patients with a low LDL-C level and hypertriglyceridemia, the Sampson method may be preferred. The validity of the Martin Hopkins’ and Sampson’s formulas has to be further investigated in different populations.