Introduction Arteriosclerosis is by far the leading cause of heart disease in old age,8 although it does not spare the young.10,13,17 It also offers an increasing problem in psychogeriatrics, largely because of its progressive incidence with senescence and because of increasing longevity. It is generally accepted that the development of arteriosclerosis is accompanied by, if not due to, a disturbance in the metabolism of lipids. Total cholesterol, cholesterol esters, fatty acids, phospholipids, and lipoproteins have been incriminated singly or again in the ratios or combinations of these variables. However, the general idea seems well established that there is an important relationship between concentration of cholesterol in blood plasma and the development of arteriosclerosis.11,12 There is also ample experimental, clinical, and histopathological evidence to support the view that a disturbance in cholesterol metabolism is involved in the development of arteriosclerosis.1 Although hypercholesterolemia does not necessarily assume a