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 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Many risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), such as hypertension and recent infection, have already been established. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen that has been implicated as a potential risk factor for hypertension and atherosclerotic diseases. The purpose of the case-control study presented here was to examine the causative relationship between C. pneumoniae infection and SAH. Serum C. pneumoniae IgG and IgA antibodies were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 52 patients with SAH and in 104 healthy age-matched control subjects. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between SAH and both a strong seropositivity for IgG and/or IgA antibodies against C. pneumoniae (odds ratio, OR, 3.62; 95% confidence intervals, CI, 1.06-12.39; p = 0.040), which indicates the presence of acute C. pneumoniae infection, and hypertension (OR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.42-5.96; p = 0.0035). These results provide evidence that infection with C. pneumoniae may be a risk factor for SAH from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm.
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PMID:Chlamydia pneumoniae infection as a risk factor for subarachnoid hemorrhage. 1570 63

Our aim was to investigate the relationship between the serologic status concerning Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori with the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD), which remain a controversial issue in literature. We studied 208 patients with CAD and 94 controls with no evidence of obstructive CAD; all of them angiographically confirmed. The seropositivity to C. pneumoniae was 91% in patients with CAD vs 86% in controls (P>0.05). The H. pylori seroprevalence rates were 77% and 68%, respectively (P>0.05). The multivariate analysis, adjusting for age, sex, educational level, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, smoking, family history of CAD and lipids, confirmed the results of univariate analysis. Therefore, this study adds evidence against the association of seropositivity to C. pneumoniae and H. pylori with angiographically documented CAD.
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PMID:Seropositivity to Chlamydia pneumoniae or Helicobacter pylori and coronary artery disease. 1650 71

Organising pneumonia (OP) is a rare syndrome that has been associated with a variety of underlying disorders, including infections, collagen vascular diseases, toxic fumes, cancer, drugs and radiotherapy. Cryptogenic form is also observed. Steroids are usually effective in the treatment of OP, but other treatment regimens have been used as well. We present 5 women with OP, age ranged 57-76 years (mean - 67 years). Two of them were smokers and three were non-smokers. One patient was treated because of hyperthyreosis, one of COPD, and four had a hypertension. Four of them were diagnosed by the open lung biopsy and one by transbronchial lung biopsy. Dyspnoea (100%), cough (100%), fever (80%), weight loss (40%), chest pain (20%), were the most frequently noticed symptoms. All patients had bilateral consolidations with areas of ground glass attenuations at chest x-ray and HRCT. Migratory pattern of them was observed in four patients. Significant elevation of antibodies titers against Chlamydia pneumoniae was revealed in two patients. In all patients clarithromycin in a dose 0.5 g b.d. was administrated. Complete clinical and radiological remission was obtained after 3 months of clarithromycin therapy in 3 patients (one had Chlamydia antibodies). Two patients had not obtained significant improvement during the first two weeks of therapy so prednisolone in a dose 0.5 mg/kg/d was introduced. Also complete remission was noticed in these patients. The observation period ranged from 8 months to 4 years (mean - 34 months). Our study confirms that OP can be treated by the use of clarithromycin. It may be the alternative treatment, particularly for patients in whom probability of adverse reactions in the course of steroid treatment is high.
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PMID:[Organizing pneumonia--own experiences with clarithromycin treatment]. 1632 49

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia, however, the mechanism of atrial fibrillation is not well explained. It has been considered that inflammation plays a role in atrial fibrillation, recently. Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft are at high risk for developing postoperative atrial fibrillation. The peak levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were paralleled to the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation. In general population, CRP was also higher in patients with atrial fibrillation than in control people. Persistent atrial fibrillation patients had a higher CRP level than paroxysmal atrial fibrillation patients. CRP was not only associated with the presence of atrial fibrillation but may also predict patients at increased risk for future development of atrial fibrillation. Why inflammation markers in atrial fibrillation are high is a puzzling problem. We hypothesized that Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is a possible cause of atrial fibrillation by initiating inflammation response. It was demonstrated that infection of endothelial cells with C. pneumoniae elicited the production of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1, interleukin-1, interleukin-8, interleukin-18, tumor necrosis factor, interferon and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule. Most of these cytokines play a crucial role in inflammation response that associate with the initiating and maintenance of atrial fibrillation. There are so many pathogens that can trigger inflammation. Some evidences showed that C. pneumoniae was the most likely pathogen of atrial fibrillation. In epidemic study, the incidence of atrial fibrillation increased from younger to elder and atrial fibrillation was more common in men than in women. C. pneumoniae has the same epidemic trend as the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Hypertension, myocardial infarction and reduced lung function are predictors of atrial fibrillation. C. pneumoniae infection is high in the patients with the above diseases. C. pneumoniae was found in endomyocardial biopsy samples, which supported C. pneumoniae was the candidate pathogen, too. Chlamydia infection can cause myocardial interstitial fibrosis and inflammation cells infiltration. The pathology characters of C. pneumoniae infection are similar to that found in atrial fibrillation. Seroepidemic study should be carried out to evaluate if there is relationship between C. pneumoniae and atrial fibrillation. If the hypothesis is confirmed, macrocyclic lactone antibiotics may be used to eliminate the pathogen. It will be a new target point to treat atrial fibrillation.
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PMID:Inflammation and atrial fibrillation: is Chlamydia pneumoniae a candidate pathogen of atrial fibrillation? 1679 13

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process disease that involves the artery wall and that is characterized by the progressive accumulation of lipids. The term arteriosclerosis has been created by Lobstein in 1833. Subsequently, during the 19th century, the contribution of Rokitansky and Virchow was important to elucidate the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis and the morphologic aspects of the plaque. In the beginning of the 20th century, Aschoff was a leading proponent who regarded the morphologically different intimal lipid deposits of children and adults as early and late stages of one disease and he called them atherosis and atherosclerosis, respectively. The first classification of atherosclerosis was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1958 and it consisted of the following sequence: fatty streak, atheroma, fibrous plaque and complicated lesions. In 1990s, thanks to much more sensitive techniques, the American Heart Association (AHA) proposed a new morphological classification based on eight lesion types designated by Roman numerals which indicate the usual sequence of lesion progression. Finally, Virmani et al. (2000) described a classification with the add of a specific plaque type, not recognized by the AHA classification, called "thin fibrous cap atheroma" which is more likely to rupture. The atherosclerotic process is characterized by typical ultrastructural changes that mainly involve the endothelial and smooth muscle cells. The morphological alterations of the endothelium are associated with dysfunctions leading to a proinflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype. This process seems to be due to turbulent blood flow and low fluid shear stress that normally occurs in particular regions of the vascular tree. Inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and it is supported by numerous factors such as modified LDL, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, free radicals and, in particular, by infectious agents such as Chlamydia pneumoniae.
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PMID:[Morphological aspects of atherosclerosis lesion: past and present]. 1681 3

The zinc finger transcription factor Egr-l plays an important role in cardiovascular biology. While binding complementary motifs on DNA in the target genes, Egr-1 either increases or decreases proteosynthesis of many proinflammatory and antiinflammatory mediators. In physiologic circumstances, these mediators support healing and regeneration of damaged tissue, mainly by conducting angioneogenesis. In pathologic circumstances these same mediators take an active part in promoting tissue injury. The participation of the transcription factor Egr-1 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis can be traced from the initial phases with the generation of foam cells as far as the onset of acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular ischemic events. At the same time, transcription factor Egr-1 presents a would-be linker at the level of which converge many seemingly heterogenous atherogenic risk factors such as hyperlipidemic disorders, untoward rheologic changes of blood flow often encountered in arterial hypertension or various infectious agents, with Chlamydia pneumoniae belonging to the most deeply investigated ones. Protective effects of the known anti-atherogenic factors, such as the endogenous antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 or the "pleiotropic" effects of statins can be, at least in part, explained by their inhibitory influence on the activities of the transcription factor Egr-1.
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PMID:[Transcription factor Egr-1 in cardiovascular biology]. 1755 70

Recently, Chlamydia pneumoniae has been identified as a risk factor for atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. In young patients the causes of stroke are more diverse, and remain unknown in about 30% of cases, despite thorough investigations. To find a possible relationship between C. pneumoniae infection and stroke at young age, we investigated C. pneumoniae antibody titers in 41 patients with ischemic stroke who were younger than 50 years old and in 55 healthy control subjects. A positive IgA antibody titer to C. pneumoniae was significantly associated with stroke (crude odds ratio 2.1; 90% confidence interval 1.1-9.5; P = .04). After adjusting for hypertension, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia, positive Chlamydia antibodies remained associated with stroke (adjusted odds ratio 2.8; 90% confidence interval 1.1-7.1; P = .04). No significant association between positive IgG antibodies and stroke was found. Because a positive IgA antibody titer may reflect a persistent infection, these data indicate that persistent C. pneumoniae infection may be an independent risk factor for stroke at young age.
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PMID:Chlamydia pneumoniae is a likely risk factor for ischemic stroke in young patients. 1790 55

Last year, and in the early part of this year, the Task Force issued a number of recommendations on topics ranging from hypertension screening to screening for illicit drug use. While some of these recommendations were reaffirmations of past recommendations, others included some changes. The Task Force has: 1) dropped the age for routine screening for Chlamydia in sexually active women from 25 years and younger to 24 and younger; 2) added a recommendation against the use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to prevent colorectal cancer (CRC); 3) changed its recommendation on screening for carotid artery stenosis. In 1996, the Task Force noted that the evidence was insufficient to make a recommendation; in 2007 it recommended against such routine screening; 4) added recommendations on counseling patients about drinking and driving, as well as on screening for illicit drug use. In both cases, the Task Force says the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against.
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PMID:Should you screen--or not? The latest recommendations. 1862 70

We evaluated the serum levels of IgG antibodies to Helicobacter pylori, Chlamydia pneumoniae and cytomegalovirus and the level of the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and fibrinogen in 57 patients with acute coronary syndrome, 65 with unstable angina, 60 with stable angina and 44 healthy controls, and whether these markers were associated with cardiac instability 6 months after admission. acute There was a significant increased risk of late coronary events (cardiac death or readmission with coronary events) associated with seropositivity to C. pneumoniae (adjusted odds ratio 2.12; 95% confidence interval: 1.16-4.08). Other parameters were not significantly associated with late cardiac events after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and smoking behaviour.
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PMID:Prognostic value of infection and inflammation markers for late cardiac events in an Iranian sample. 1916 Nov

Stroke is among the most common causes of death and persisting disability and therefore represents a great social and economic burden worldwide. In order to lower this burden it is essential to identify risk factors and respective preventive strategies. Besides the established stroke risk factors (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, atrial fibrillation) both acute and chronic infectious diseases have emerged as risk factors for stroke. Mainly acute respiratory tract infection but also urinary tract infections independently increase the risk of ischemic stroke. Such additional risk was shown to be highest for infection within 3 days before ischemia and the risk steadily declines with increasing time intervals between infection and stroke. Associations between stroke incidence and mortality and influenza epidemics have been demonstrated. Observational studies showed an inverse association between influenza vaccination and stroke risk; however, interventional studies in this field have not been performed so far. Chronic infections, presently discussed as stroke risk factors mainly include periodontitis and infections with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cp). Although most respective studies identified these infectious diseases as independent stroke risk factors interventional trials have not been performed so far and causality is not proven, yet. There is preliminary evidence that the number of pathogens to which a subject had been exposed to rather than single pathogens are associated with the risk of stroke or other cardiovascular diseases. Chronic infectious diseases are treatable conditions and their identification as causal contributors to stroke risk could offer new avenues in stroke prevention.
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PMID:Infection, its treatment and the risk for stroke. 1935 97


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