Inflammation is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Recent research has shown that inflammation plays a key role in coronary artery disease (CAD) and other manifestations of atherosclerosis. As classified, inflammation can be divided into : acute and chronic. Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells which are present at the site of inflammation and is characterised by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process.
A chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low density (especially small particle) lipoproteins (plasma proteins that carry cholesterol and triglycerides) without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol from the macrophages by functional high density lipoproteins (HDL), is a syndrome which affecting arterial blood vessels known as atherosclerosis. It is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the end result of the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the coronary arteries that supply the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) with oxygen and nutrients. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood.
This internal medicine journal tells us about main features of atherosclerotic lesions, evolution of the rupture prone atherosclerotic plaque which consist of gene-targeted mouse models, role of endothelial activation, adhesion molecules, and chemokines, Antiinflammatory Factors and Disease Activity, infections in the link with CAD, mechanisms of plaque rupture, systemic indicators of inflammation, inflammatory markers and the risk of CAD, and the final is therapeutic opportunities.
In conclusion, new knowledge about inflammation
in CAD has provided surprising insights into
its pathogenesis, has offered new opportunities for
diagnosis and prediction, and may lead to new treatments
for this life-threatening disease.
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