Traditional risk factors like obesity, smoking status, LDL-cholesterol, and total cholesterol are used in the clinic to determine the risk of developing adverse cardiac events such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and atherosclerosis. However, did you know that as of 2016, the Mayo Clinic has used the CERAM panel, which assesses plasma or serum ceramide levels, to evaluate these adverse risks in patients? The ceramides tested include C16:0, C18:0, and C24:1, along with the ratios C16:0/C24:0, C18:0/C24:0, and C24:1/C24:0. The risks conferred by these ceramide ratios are independent of sex, age, gender, LDL, and other traditional factors, and they continually outperform cholesterol testing.
The Ceramide Synthase isoform - CerS2 is thought to add the C20 to C26 acyl chain lengths, whereas CerS5 (or CerS6) is responsible for adding C14-C18:1 acyl chain lengths. Thus, it is believed that CerS5 and CerS2 are significant contributors. I'm curious about your thoughts on this.
CERAM Panel Overview
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Anna Kovilakath
Postdoctoral Fellow
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond VA
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