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)

Thrombosis occurs when there is a breakdown in the balance between thrombogenic factors and protective mechanisms. The thrombogenic factors may be exogenous (e.g. trauma, surgery), endogenous (e.g. cancer, vascular diseases) or both (e.g. atherosclerosis, complicated pregnancy). Defects in the protective mechanisms may be congenital (e.g. factor V R506Q-mutation, deficiency of protein C, protein S or antithrombin) or acquired (e.g. lupus anticoagulans, deficiency of antithrombin in nephrosis). In recent years, research in thromboembolic diseases has been overwhelmed with new observations, rendering it worthwhile to put efforts into the evaluation of thrombotic mechanisms in individuals suffering from or predisposed to thromboembolic diseases. Such efforts will pave the way for more effective prophylaxis in thrombosis-prone patients, more specific treatment of thrombotic diseases, and the mastering of recurrent thrombosis.
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PMID:Thrombogenesis. 868 75

The research projects of the European Forum on Antiphospholipid Antibodies are representative of how dynamic is this area of investigation. The present review is focused on the most recent projects of the Forum on the aetiopathogenic aspects of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Studies on the genetic background of the APS are ongoing in order to better define the proximity between APS and full-blown systemic lupus erythematosus. However, the analysis of the polymorphisms of genes coding for inflammatory mediators may offer new information on the role of inflammatory processes in triggering thrombotic events as well as the whole susceptibility for developing the vascular manifestations. A systematic and wide detection of serological markers of infectious processes will give new insight on the role of infectious agents in favouring autoimmunity in APS. Owing to the well-known role of vitamin D(3) defect in autoimmune disease, the detection of vitamin plasma levels in APS patients will offer the rationale for a possible therapeutic supplementation. Additional projects are aimed to better characterize the diagnostic/prognostic value of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) by defining their epitope specificity and binding avidity. Pregnancy complications represent the obstetric side of APS. Research projects are focussed on the role of complement activation in placenta damage and on the potential ability of aPL to affect the fertility. Finally, a study has been planned in order to draw definitive conclusions on the associations between aPL and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:European Forum on Antiphospholipid Antibodies: research in progress. 1967 94

Women's cardiovascular health is a national priority that should be addressed through improving cardiovascular awareness and prevention. Given the costs of treating cardiovascular disease and screening for it, novel and innovative ways to identify women who should undergo risk screening and intervention, including lifestyle modification, is critical to achieve this goal. Pregnancy is seen as a vascular stress test in that the development of common pregnancy complications has been shown to predict a woman's risk of premature cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease-related mortality. Therefore, pregnancy and the postpartum period provide a new early window of opportunity to identify risk factors for the majority of women to improve their long-term health. We have translated the research findings into the Maternal Health Clinic for health maintenance and disease prevention. Women who develop one of the pregnancy-related cardiovascular risk indicators are referred for screening, counseling, and lifestyle modification. We have reported that over half of the women referred to the Maternal Health Clinic, in comparison to women who have a normal pregnancy outcome, have a high lifetime cardiovascular disease risk and three times the risk to meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome. If these women had not attended our clinic and received early screening and intervention, they may not have been identified as having underlying risk factors until much later in life. Intervening and management later in life, when there is a potentially greater burden of atherosclerosis, does not reduce cardiovascular disease risk to the same extent as maintaining favorable risk factor levels throughout adulthood. Pregnancy complications and the postpartum period are a new early window of opportunity to reliably identify women who should undergo cardiovascular risk screening, and management that may improve subsequent pregnancy outcomes and prevent cardiovascular disease.
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PMID:The Maternal Health Clinic: Improving women's cardiovascular health. 2607 32