Due to the wake lineal correlation and in order to corroborate the association of APOE mRNA expression levels with plasma lipid concentration and hypercholesterolemia, comparison analyses by grouping patients according to tercile of APOE mRNA values were performed (first tercile: 2-ΔCt < 7.7x10-5; second tercile: 2-ΔCt: 7.7x10-5 - 17.1x10-5; third tercile: 2-ΔCt > 17.1x10-5). Here, APOE is linked to familial hypercholesterolemia.