The term 'dyslipidemia includes a wide family of lipoprotein metabolic defects often related to cardiovascular diseases. Despite the complexity of lipid disorders, current guidelines indicate LDL-C as the single most important therapeutic target; however, other lipido-proteic parameters, such as the concentration of lipoprotein subfractions (e.g., small-dense LDL) or their functional capacity (e.g., HDL reverse cholesterol transport), may display direct pro- or anti-atherogenic properties. Traditional lipid profiles may therefore be inadequate in representing dyslipidemia complexity and may prove to be ineffective in estimating the overall patients risk in this context. We designed a research project attempting to provide a coherent framework integrating traditional lipid profiling and advanced diagnostics, to assess qualitative and functional lipoprotein features in relevant clinical conditions and to correlate them with preclinical atherosclerosis. © 2010 Future Medicine Ltd.