I was wondering if you have any research, published or otherwise, to share regarding its effectiveness in lowering Lp(a).
I was reading the Vitamin C Foundation forum on the subject and it was really interesting to hear your story of the New York medical school professor who had lowered his Lp(a) to zero after a year of vitamin C, lysine and proline supplementation. Do you know whether he was taking the equivalent of two packs of Cardio-C per day? Was he also taking niacin?
Lp(a) is a concern of mine due to a strong family history of cardiovascular disease and my recently measured Lp(a) of 101 nmol/L (Risk: Optimal < 75 nmol/L; Moderate 75-125 nmol/L; High > 125 nmol/L Cardiovascular event risk category cut points (optimal, moderate, high) are based on Marcovina et al. Clin Chem. 2003;49:1785 and Nordestgaard et al. European Heart J. 2010;31:2844 (results of meta-analysis and expert panel recommendations).
This "moderately high” Lp(a) level is quite unexpected given my overall excellent health and otherwise minuscule cardiovascular disease risk. However, I do have some longstanding damage to my stomach lining that I’m trying to heal, which prevents me from digesting protein adequately. Thus, despite aggressive vitamin C supplementation, it appears that I need a boost in amino acids to finish the job. I started on 250 mg niacin supplementation a couple of weeks prior to my recent lab test, so I suppose that will have its own effect on Lp(a) down the road.
It sounds like you are keeping up with the forum, and thus you know that there really is no scientific evidence that elevated Lp(a) can be lowered. (In the Pauling/Rath experiments, Vitamin C in guinea pigs prevented apo(a) from rising).
If your Lp(a) is really elevated, the very best thing you can do is take Lp(a) binding inhibitors (e.g. vitamin C, lysine and proline) into the blood which at a high concentration seems to keep Lp(a) from attaching to strands of lysine that may appear after an arterial lesion.
And as you say, the NY Medical School professor noticed that it was the addition of proline that apparently lowered his Lp(a) (Thus his excited call...)
Anecdotally, forum members taking Pauling's high-vitamin C/lysine therapy for years, who have had their Lp(a) measured, have discovered that their Lp(a) is low.. Usually less than 2 mg/dl. Most are also supplementing proline.
If your "moderately high" Lp(a) is measured (not calculated) that is an indication that you "aggressive vitamin C supplementation" may not be enough. How much vitamin C are you now taking daily? What is your total cholesterol in mg/dl?
Forum members have reported that Life Extension counselors/experts have found studies showing that carnitine lowers Lp(a).