Inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and diet responsiveness.

There has been a surge of interest in the role of inflammation in causation of atherosclerosis and acute coronary syndromes. This interest is spurred both by pathological studies showing that ruptured coronary plaques manifest inflammatory characteristics1 and by the demonstration that inflammatory biomarkers in the plasma correlate with risk for acute coronary syndromes.2,3 Among the biomarkers that correlate with acute coronary syndromes, the most robust is C-reactive protein (CRP).4 The liver is known to respond to high levels of cytokines in the circulation with an increased production of CRP. A recent report by the American Heart Association/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (AHA/CDC)4 indicated that CRP measurements may provide incremental information for global risk assessment for coronary heart disease beyond that obtained from established risk factors. These measurements can be made at the discretion of physicians, provided that established risk factors are given priority in global risk assessment.