Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Decreased levels of plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol have been associated with premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Tangier disease is an autosomal co-dominant disorder in which homozygotes have a marked deficiency of HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein (apo) A-I levels (both < 10 mg/dl), decreased low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (about 40% of normal), and mild hypertriglyceridemia. Homozygotes develop cholesterol ester deposition in tonsils (orange tonsils), liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and Schwann cells. Our purpose was to assess the prevalence of CVD in Tangier disease. We reviewed published clinical information on 51 cases of homozygous Tangier disease, report 3 new cases and provide autopsy information on 3 cases. Mean (+/- S.D.) lipid values of all cases were as follows: total cholesterol 68 +/- 30 mg/dl (32% of normal), triglycerides 201 +/- 118 mg/dl (162% of normal), HDL cholesterol 3 +/- 3 mg/dl (6% of normal) and LDL cholesterol 50 +/- 38 mg/dl (37% of normal). The most common clinical finding in these subjects (n = 54) was peripheral neuropathy which was observed in 54% of cases versus < 1% of control subjects (n = 3130). CVD was observed in 20% of Tangier patients versus 5% of controls (P < 0.05), and in those that were between 35 and 65 years of age, 44% (11 of 25) had evidence of CVD (either angina, myocardial infarction or stroke) versus 6.5% in 1533 male controls and 3.2% in 1597 female controls in this age group (P < 0.01). In 9 patients who died, 2 died prior to age 20 of probable infectious diseases, 3 of documented coronary heart disease at ages 48, 64, and 72, 2 of stroke at ages 56 and 69, one of valvular heart disease, and 1 of cancer. In three autopsy cases, significant diffuse atherosclerosis was observed in one at age 64, moderate atherosclerosis and cerebral infarction in another at age 56, but no atherosclerosis was noted in the third case who died of lymphoma at age 62. In one patient with established coronary heart disease, none of the lipid lowering agents used (niacin, gemfibrozil, estrogen or lovastatin) raised HDL cholesterol levels above 5 mg/dl. However, these agents did have significant effects on lowering triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels. Our data indicate that there may be heterogeneity in these patients with regard to CVD risk, that peripheral neuropathy is a major problem in many patients, and that CVD is a significant clinical problem in middle aged and elderly Tangier homozygotes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Atherosclerosis 1994 May
PMID:Homozygous Tangier disease and cardiovascular disease. 794 62

Infection is a devastating complication of synthetic aortic graft surgery. Patients with significant occlusive atherosclerosis of the internal iliac arteries undergoing aortic graft removal for graft infection may be at risk of pelvic and midbody necrosis. An unusual and fatal complication of this nature associated with the management of synthetic aortic graft infection has been encountered in two patients treated by extra-anatomic revascularization and staged removal of the infected aortic prosthesis. The hallmark of their presentation was pelvic and midbody necrosis in the presence of excellent distal perfusion with palpable pulses. Marginal pelvic circulation was therefore compromised further by graft removal and absence of retrograde pelvic perfusion. The finding of focal ischemic changes in the pelvic area of a patient with increasing serum creatinine phosphokinase activity, leukocytosis, myoglobinuria and paraplegia following infected aortic graft removal signals a grave and fatal prognosis.
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PMID:Pelvic necrosis: a complication of infected aortic graft excision. 807 36

One hundred and twenty cases of stroke occurring in Saudi Arabian subjects aged 15 to 45 years are reviewed. These constituted 12.7% of a group of 946 stroke patients. Males outnumbered females (76/44). The frequency of intracranial hemorrhage, including subarachnoid hemorrhage, was slightly lower than cerebral infarction (41.5 vs 58.5%). The causes of large cerebral infarction were as follows: atherosclerosis 17 (28%), cardiac embolism 12 (19.5%), uncommon and uncertain causes 21 (34.5%). Some unusual causes were encountered such as dissecting arterial aneurysm due to popular healing manoeuvres or to traditional dance, retrograde embolism from a thoracic outlet syndrome or embolism from a fibroelastoma of the mitral valve chorda. Lacunar cerebral infarction was diagnosed in nine cases. Hypertension (25.5%) and arteriovenous malformations (20.5%) were the main causes of cerebral hemorrhage; all subarachnoid hemorrhages except one were due to berry aneurysms. The cause was undetermined in 16% of cerebral infarction and 26% of intracranial hemorrhage. The high frequency of stroke in young Saudi Arabian adults is probably a reflection of the demographic structure of the predominantly young Saudi society. The observed causes were relatively similar to those in industrial societies. Contrary to other developing countries infectious disease no longer seems to be an important cause of stroke. Drug abuse, which is becoming an important cause in Western societies, was encountered in only two of our cases.
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PMID:Stroke in Saudi Arabian young adults: a study of 120 cases. 808 29

The authors found a significant reduction of the suppressor function in carriers of the Australian antigen. This may contribute to a formation of immune complexes. Infection of rabbits with Herpes simplex virus resulted in an essentially enhanced development of experimental atherosclerosis against the background of a reduction of the suppressor function. These findings give evidence of the importance of viral infection in the development of atherosclerosis due to an inhibition of the suppressor function of T lymphocytes.
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PMID:[Influence of viral infections in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis]. 813 Jan 63

Previous studies of age-related susceptibility to viral infection have focused largely on the effects of aging on the immune response. Little attention has been given to age-related changes in the infectivity of target cells. We show here a fourfold greater plating efficiency of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) for cultured vascular smooth muscle cells derived from adult rats compared with cells from genetically identical pup rats. The difference in plating efficiency appeared to be due to differences in initial attachment of the virion to the cell surface. There were no differences in the rate of viral entry or the efficiency of viral replication at high multiplicities of infection and no resistant "subpopulation" of pup cells. The pup cells did not release a soluble inhibitor of infection. Infection in both cell types was inhibited similarly by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Although adult cells exhibited a more vigorous mitogenic response to bFGF than did pup cells, binding studies did not demonstrate significant differences in the binding of bFGF to the cell surface, suggesting that differential expression of high-affinity FGF receptors could not be correlated with the difference in infectivity. We speculate that differences in the distribution of heparan sulfate in the cell surface, which serves as the initial attachment site for HSV-1, may explain the observed differences in plating efficiency. Since age is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, these results have potential implications for susceptibility of the vasculature to herpesviral infections as a function of the development of the vessel wall.
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PMID:Developmentally regulated herpesvirus plaque formation in arterial smooth muscle cells. 838 74

We have reappraised studies on morbidity and mortality in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), comparing it with hemodialysis (HD), the standard treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). More hospitalization is required for CAPD, the difference being related to peritonitis, to the more frequent presence of some risk factors (such as diabetes and atherosclerosis) in the patients selected for CAPD, and to the lack of experience in the early years of CAPD practice. CAPD patients have less acute morbidity during treatment that not always requires hospitalization: hypotension, hypertension, arrhythmias, and myocardial ischemia. Cardiac performance is also better in CAPD patients, who develop less myocardial hypertrophy than HD patients. Hospitalization due to infectious disease not referable to technique, beta 2-microglobulin related morbidity, signs of uremic neuropathy, osteodystrophy, and malnutrition are similar in both groups. Method survival is better for HD, the difference being completely accounted for by peritonitis. Patient survival adjusted for pre-treatment differences is similar in CAPD and HD, and this is not an artifact of more drop-outs on CAPD. A high incidence of peritonitis is accompanied by an increased risk of death. Older patients have a lesser risk of death on CAPD than on HD. Diabetics have a worse survival than non-diabetics, with no difference between the two methods. Although patient survivals on CAPD and HD are the same, differences in the mode of blood purification have an interesting impact on particular aspects of morbidity.
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PMID:Morbidity and mortality of CAPD and hemodialysis. 844 38

T cell cytokines are known to play a major role in determining protection and pathology in infectious disease. It has recently become clear that IL-12 is a key inducer of the type 1 T cell cytokine pattern characterized by production of IFN-gamma. Conversely, IL-10 down-regulates IL-12 production and type 1 cytokine responses. We have investigated whether IL-12 and IL-10 might be involved in a chronic inflammatory reaction, atherosclerosis. In atherosclerotic plaques, we found strong expression of IFN-gamma but not IL-4 mRNAs as compared to normal arteries. IL-12 p40 mRNA and IL-12 p70 protein were also found to be abundant in atherosclerotic plaques. IL-12 was induced in monocytes in vitro in response to highly oxidized LDL but not minimally modified LDL. The cross-regulatory role of IL-10 was indicated by the expression of IL-10 in some atherosclerotic lesions, and the demonstration that exogenous rIL-10 inhibited LDL-induced IL-12 release. These data suggest that the balance between IL-12 and IL-10 production contributes to the level of immune-mediated tissue injury in atherosclerotsis.
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PMID:Cross-regulatory roles of interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-10 in atherosclerosis. 862 3

Pathologic integration is the basic phenomenon of comparative pathology. Since man evolved as earth's most influential species, he was unequally influenced the progression and prevention of diseases in himself and other species. This has both positive and negative ramifications. Positive influences have been life-style, the prolongation of life under healthy conditions and medical progress as seen in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, dental hygiene and other factors, such as the decrease of infectious and parasitic diseases, which are still dominating factors in developing nations. Negative influences are side effects of medical treatments, the appearance of occupational, and certain recreational diseases. These are the pathologic effects of man's life-style to which car accidents, smoking and other factors can be added. Different species are affected by environmental changes such as pollution, ozone, acidic rain, polluted food, and transmission of different diseases from one species to another. Interspecies-specifically the direct influence of man in the extermination of other species, or the indirect influence such as through pollutants in the environment producing chain reactions in different species, can be distinguished. The physical environment has been changed as can be seen in air pollution in large cities, the damage to the ozone layer and the increase of malignant melanoma in certain regions of western Australia. The industrialized nations are dominated by non-infectious diseases such as atherosclerosis and neoplasms, whereas in the developing nations parasitic and infectious diseases stand in the fore-front. Particular diseases like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome increase in both types of nations. These diseases may have developed from other species, e.g. the plague which was originally a disease of rodents, especially rats where it was transmitted by the flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, Rothschild. The principle of foremost importance is the disruption of biologic integration of normal processes leading to different types of pathologic progression. A typical problem affecting man and many other fellow species is crowding. Man's pathology and the pathology of other species exhibit continued integration which is the central problem for understanding diseases where similar functions are performed by various structures, such as is the case in gaseous exchange, or differences in size and life span. The broad spectrum of comparative pathology which centers around human pathology provides a source of increased knowledge for a better understanding of diseases. The present issue is based on the two symposia organized by the International Society for the Study of Comparative Ongology during the Fifth International Conference of Anticancer Research, 17-22 October 1995, Corfu, Greece.
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PMID:Introduction: human pathology within the broad scope of comparative pathology. 874 90

Accurate usage of the term 'epidemic' is important scientifically and it should ideally be used to mean only contagious diseases, not used loosely or emotively to mean non-infectious diseases, particularly coronary heart disease, which is a non-specific complication of many diseases. It should not be used as a surrogate term for atherosclerosis of indefinite severity. An epidemic of atherosclerosis is impossible, there being no variation in prevalence because the disease is ubiquitous. Moreover, vital statistics are too unreliable to determine the existence of an increase or decline in coronary heart disease. A coronary heart disease epidemic could be due to an increase in non-atherosclerotic coronary heart disease or increased severity of atherosclerosis. The former has not been studied and the latter would cause a shift to the left in age distribution and is inconsistent with the fall in 'all cause' and stroke mortality rates whilst coronary heart disease mortality allegedly increased alarmingly. A coronary heart disease epidemic, having no scientific basis, negates any reason for the sustained search for a speculative causative environmental factor.
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PMID:The hypothetical epidemic of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. 874 84

Rapid economic growth in Taiwan is accompanied by changing lifestyles, and the mortality pattern has switched from predominantly infectious diseases to chronic diseases. Age-adjusted mortality from heart disease has increased slowly but steadily. However, mortality from heart disease in Taiwan remains low compared with many other countries. Mortality from the cerebrovascular diseases has decreased gradually. Current age- and sex-specific values of blood cholesterol low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) are, in general, higher than values in mainland China, but lower than those in the NHANES III and PROCAM studies. From 1950 to 1987, percent dietary fat increased from 16% to 36% in Taiwan. However, a high polyunsaturated fat/saturated fat (P/S) ratio (1.3) maintained during this period may in part explain the favorable blood lipid status and low mortality from heart disease. Data from prospective studies are scarce. In case-control studies carried out in Chinese, significantly higher values of TG, CHOL LDL-C, but lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels have often been found in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients than in controls. The percent differences in TG and HDL-C values (20%) were much greater than those of CHOL and LDL-C (3%). A few studies have identified the TG level as an independent risk factor for stroke and CAD in Taiwan, where a moderate to high fat diet with an advantageous P/S ratio is consumed.
Atherosclerosis 1995 Dec
PMID:Plasma lipid profiles and epidemiology of atherosclerotic diseases in Taiwan--a unique experience. 877 Mar 22


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