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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Findings from 44 autopsy examinations of cardiac transplant patients during a 10-year period were reviewed. The autopsy rate was 85%. One half of the autopsy patients underwent original transplantation for ischemic heart disease and 34% for cardiomyopathy. Survival after transplantation ranged from 0 (intraoperative) to 91 months. Rejection (including hyperacute rejection) was responsible for 41% of deaths, followed by infection (25%), and intraoperative deaths at first transplantation (9%). Most of the remaining complications were related to surgery or artificial heart support, accelerated allograft atherosclerosis, and lymphoma. Infections were not only responsible for a substantial percentage of deaths but were also a co-morbid finding in a number of patients who died primarily of other causes. Pulmonary infections represented the most common anatomic site. Twenty-five percent of the autopsy patients had gastrointestinal and/or pancreatic abnormalities, principally mucosal inflammation, erosions or hemorrhage, and pancreatitis. Review of premortem rejection history indicated that 64% of patients who died of or with rejection at autopsy had had an episode of rejection 3 weeks after transplantation and/or at least one episode of severe rejection.
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PMID:Autopsy findings in cardiac transplant patients. A 10-year experience. 154 52

The patient with diabetes represents to the surgeon a particular challenge in the management of acute abdominal problems. In addition to their ongoing and potential metabolic problems, diabetics have specific difficulty in their ability to handle infections and heal wounds. The present report reviews the general principles in the peri-operative management of diabetics and discusses the implications in the diabetic of several specific clinical problems. In view of the known accelerated atherosclerosis associated with diabetes, the risks of anesthesia and surgery must be assessed in the context of the coronary, cerebral, visceral, and peripheral vascular status. Infections in diabetics (potential or established) must be treated aggressively and promptly. Acidosis in the diabetic with abdominal pain must be considered both a metabolic problem and a possible secondary manifestation of an intra-abdominal process. In view of these challenges, the need for careful, anticipatory management of the diabetic patient facing major abdominal surgery is clear.
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PMID:Diabetes and abdominal surgery: the mutual risks. 642 50

Systemic infections may thicken the intima of coronary arteries and modify the serum lipid profile. Infants and children are particularly susceptible to such intimal thickening, the signs of which are more pronounced in infants who have evidence of infection at death. The topography of the thickenings, their greater size in males, and in families with a history of coronary heart disease favours the idea that the thickenings are pre-atherosclerotic. Infections modify the serum lipid pattern: serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration decreases and stays low during convalescence. Thus repeated infections might prove to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis via their effect on HDL concentration.
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PMID:Altered serum lipid profile after systemic infection in children: risk factor for CHD? 813 93

An increasing body of evidence has linked infections to atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Herpesviruses cause atherosclerosis in experimental animals. Herpesviruses can also be detected in atherosclerotic lesions in humans. Cytomegalovirus may play a role in arteriosclerosis in transplanted hearts, and this virus, together with tumor suppressor protein p53, can be found in restenosis lesions following angioplasty. Chlamydia pneumoniae and dental infections are associated with coronary heart disease in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, and preceding respiratory infections are associated with ischemic stroke. Infections may favor formation of atherosclerosis and thrombosis by elevation of blood levels of fibrinogen, leukocytes, clotting factor, and cytokines and by alteration of the metabolism and functions of endothelial cells and monocyte macrophages. Low-grade infections may also be one of the causes of the inflammatory reaction observed in atherosclerotic lesions and acute ischemic symptoms, reflected in elevated levels of C-reactive protein. These observations warrant further studies in this field.
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PMID:Role of infection as a risk factor for atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke. 952 51

Infections are an increasing problem in the elderly population, because of the often atypical presentation and the more frequent occurrence of complications, which lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The increased prevalence of infections in the elderly is due to a number of factors: increased exposure to micro-organisms (especially in nursing homes); degeneration of various organs (atherosclerosis, pulmonary emphysema, diverticulosis, prolapse); decreased immune response; concomitant diseases (e.g. diabetes mellitus) and (or) use of medication. There is often a delay in the diagnosis because the presentation of infection in the elderly is frequently atypical and symptoms are attributed to old age, rather than to infection. Treatment may be hampered by increased resistance of micro-organisms, interaction with other drugs and toxicity problems.
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PMID:[Infections in elderly patients]. 955 Jul 96

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an intracellularly growing bacterium that causes respiratory infections and is strongly associated with atherosclerosis. Antibodies against C. pneumoniae are frequently encountered in the adult population, indicating past exposure to the micro-organism. Immunity to reinfection is, however, only partial and does not prevent development of sequelae. Infections caused by and associated with C. pneumoniae are a major cause of morbidity and mortality world wide. Development of a vaccine capable of protecting against infections due to C. pneumoniae and their sequelae would prevent up to 10% of community-acquired pneumonias in adults and add a new dimension to the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
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PMID:Vaccination against infections by Chlamydia pneumoniae. 1064 92

There is growing evidence that the immune response is involved in atherosclerosis. Studies done over the past several years have shown an association between markers of inflammation and coronary atherosclerosis with an exacerbation of the inflammatory process during acute myocardial ischemia. Overall, these data have greatly renewed interest in the infectious theory of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Search of bibliographic databases (from January 1991 through December 1999) and manual scanning of both peer-reviewed publications and other documents were used to identify pertinent literature. Infections and coronary heart disease were indexed as key words. A large number of studies have reported an association of human coronary heart disease and certain persistent bacterial and viral infections. The association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and coronary heart disease appears quite significant although the sequence of infection and disease is uncertain. The association between Helicobacter pylori and coronary heart disease may be accounted for by residual confounding from classic risk factors. Preliminary findings indicate that this association could be due to a higher prevalence of more virulent Helicobacter strains. Infection with Cytomegalovirus appears to be associated with a greater risk of restenosis after angioplasty rather than primary atherosclerosis. Early trials of appropriate antibiotic therapy in subjects with recent acute myocardial infarction have been encouraging. A causal relationship between infections and coronary heart disease is still elusive. Improved studies involving prospective collection of data are required to demonstrate such an association with potential implications for public health worldwide.
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PMID:Infections, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. 1092 May 5

Sero-epidemiological case control studies have observed positive relations between infections with Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori or cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke. Moreover, positive relations between 'infection burden' and CAD and the role of inflammation have recently been described. However, the relations between infection, inflammation and the occurrence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have not been reported so far. We performed a multi-centre population-based case-control study, using serum samples of 228 young female PAD patients and 643 control women to determine IgG antibody titres and C-reactive protein. The odds ratios for PAD in women with serological evidence for infection with C. pneumoniae, H. pylori or CMV were 2.0 (95% CI; 1.3-3.1), 1.6 (95% CI; 1.1-2.2) and 1.6 (95% CI; 1.1-2.3), respectively. The cumulative number of infections was positively related to the risk of PAD; the odds ratio was 1.5 (95% CI; 1.0-2.4), 2.7 (95% CI; 1.6-4.4) and 3.5 (95% CI; 1.5-8.1) for women with one, two or three infections, respectively. This increased risk, related to the 'infection burden', was found again in the subgroup of women with a high CRP level, but not in the subgroup with a low CRP level. Infections might be a causal component in the development of PAD. The risk of PAD is not only related to a single pathogen in particular, but also to the cumulative number of infections. The positive relation between 'infection burden' and PAD was only found in women with a high CRP level, which indicates that inflammation might be involved in the process that leads to PAD.
Atherosclerosis 2002 Jul
PMID:Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori and cytomegalovirus infections and the risk of peripheral arterial disease in young women. 1204 33

The chief of the women's health and fertility branch of the Centers for Disease Control's Division of Reproductive Health in Atlanta, Georgia and other reproductive health specialists have determined that vasectomies are very safe and adequately protect against pregnancy. The most common method to occlude the vas deferens is ligation. If the clinician ties the ligatures too tightly or loosely, sperm can enter adjacent tissues causing sperm granulomas and fistulous tracts. Up to 40% of vasectomies result in sperm granulomas, consisting of sperm, epithelial cells, and lymphocytes, either at the vasectomy site or the epididymis. This condition can cause the vas ends to rejoin spontaneously. Coagulation of the vas mucosa reduces sperm granulomas but it makes it more difficult for clinicians to perform vasectomy reversal. Reversal is more likely to occur if the interval between vasectomy and reversal procedure is 10 years. Vasectomy failure rates vary from 0% to 2%. Failures tend to happen because men fail to use a condom soon after the procedure or the vas has rejoined spontaneously. So the Association for Voluntary Surgical Contraception suggests that couples practice other family planning methods for the 1st 15 ejaculations after vasectomy or for 6 weeks after vasectomy. As of late 1990, 160,000 men had undergone a vasectomy and only 2 died from the procedure. 1 man suffered scrotal hematoma formation and infection while the other man died from general anesthesia when his health provider had to drain a scrotal hematoma which developed after the vasectomy. Hematomas tend to happen when physicians with no to limited experience perform the vasectomy (4.6% for physicians who do 1-10 vasectomies/year vs. 1.6% for 50 vasectomies/year). Overall hematoma incidence is 2%. Infections are limited to 2% of vasectomies. Epididymitis occurs even more rarely than infection (1%). Vasectomy does not appear to be correlated with increased risk of atherosclerosis or urogenital tract disease.
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PMID:Serious complications after vasectomy rare, experts say. 1231 90

Our previous study on herpesvirus infection including Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and atherosclerosis revealed that the prevalence of herpesvirus is higher in atherosclerotic aorta than in non-atherosclerotic aorta. Infections with two or three forms of the virus have been found only in atherosclerotic aorta. In our current study, we examined both Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia trachomatis in herpesvirus-infected aortic tissues, by means of immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, Southern hybridization, in situ hybridization, electron microscopy and electron-microscopic immunohistochemistry. In particular, the bacteria were found in atherosclerotic lesions. In atherosclerotic aorta, 40% of tissues examined were positive for C. pneumoniae in contrast to absence of this bacteria in non-atherosclerotic aorta. Elementary bodies of C. pneumoniae were found in macrophage-like cells in the intima of atherosclerotic aorta by electron microscopy. Chlamydia trachomatis was not found in both atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic aorta. Our findings suggest that multiple infections in aortic tissue contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, the absence of C. pneumoniae compared to herpesviruses in normal arterial tissue suggests that C. pneumoniae is specific for atherosclerotic lesions. In contrast to 'abortive infection' of viruses in arteries, C. pneumoniae infection was demonstrated in macrophages by electron microscopy and electron-microscopic immunohistochemistry in atherosclerotic lesion. Chlamydia pneumoniae may be the most important pathogen related to the development of atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Chlamydia pneumoniae and multiple infections in the aorta contribute to atherosclerosis. 1451 27


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