RESULTS -Clinical characteristics, pharmacological therapies, lifestyle, and prevalence of diabetes-related complications were similar in both patient groups. LDL size correlated negatively with plasma triglycerides (TGs) (R 2 = 0.52) and positively with HDL cholesterol (R 2 = 0.14). However, an inverse correlation between the TG-to-HDL cholesterol molar ratio and LDL size was even stronger (R 2 = 0.59). The ratio was Ͼ1.33 in 90% of the patients with small LDL particles (95% CI 79.3-100) and 16.5% of those with larger LDL particles. A cutoff point of 1.33 for the TG-to-HDL cholesterol ratio distinguishes between patients having small LDL values better than TG cutoff of 1.70 and 1.45 mmol/l.CONCLUSIONS -The TG-to-HDL cholesterol ratio may be related to the processes involved in LDL size pathophysiology and relevant with regard to the risk of clinical vascular disease. It may be suitable for the selection of patients needing an earlier and aggressive treatment of lipid abnormalities.

Objective: Measurement of thyroglobulin in the washout of lymph node (LN) fine needle aspirates is recommended in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). The significance of low fine needle aspirates thyroglobin (FNATg) levels remains a question, which we addressed. Method: Prospective study comparing FNATg with FNA cytology. Exploration of 34 DTC patients (53 cervical LNs), 26 non-thyroidectomized patients with a thyroid-unrelated cervical mass (negative controls) and 13 with 21 thyroid nodules (positive controls). The 12 DTC patients (19 LNs) with a malignant FNA cytology and/or high FNATg level received LN surgery (11 patients) or I 131 -iodine treatment (1 patient) and the outcome measure was pathological or scintigraphic evidence of DTC LN metastasis. Results: All 26 negative controls showed FNATg !1 ng/FNA and all 21 positive controls showed high levels of FNATg (127-210 000 ng/FNA, median 38 000). Among DTC patients in 25 LNs with a benign FNA cytology, FNATg was undetectable in 24 and low in 1 (6 ng/FNA); in 19 LNs with a malignant FNA cytology, FNATg was high in 17 (80-140 000 ng/FNA, median 7174 ng/FNA) and low in 2 (6.6 and 7.1 ng/FNA), which proved to be low Tg immunostaining oncocytic DTC metastasis; in 9 LNs with a noninformative cytology, FNATg was undetectable in 8 but 11 825 ng/FNA in 1, which proved a DTC metastasis. Measurement of FNA albumin demonstrated that contamination of FNA by serum proteins was negligible. Conclusion: Low FNATg levels can indicate a DTC metastasis. It cannot be related to clinically relevant levels of serum Tg.European Journal of Endocrinology 158 691-698

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