Vascular calcification is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and has been demonstrated as an actively regulated process resembling bone formation. Oxidized low density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL) has been identified as a regulatory factor involved in calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Additionally, over-expression of recombinant human neutral sphing...

Osteopontin (OPN) is a non-collagenous, glycosylated phosphoprotein associated with biomineralization in osseous tissues, as well as ectopic calcification. We previously reported that osteopontin was co-localized with calcified deposits in atherosclerotic lesions, and that osteopontin potently inhibits calcium deposition in a human smooth muscle cell (HSMC) culture model of vascular calcificati...

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with vascular and tissue calcification. The extent of vascular calcification has been identified as an independent risk factor of cardiovascular death in patients on haemodialysis. METHODS We studied the role of fetuin-A in CKD-associated calcification using a mouse model of graded renal insufficiency generated by nephrectomy and high phos...

BACKGROUND To investigate the association between aortic calcification, concentrations of stem-cell-mobilizing cytokines and osteocalcin-positive mononuclear cells in a mouse model and patients with peripheral artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS We estimated the concentration of the stem-cell-mobilizing cytokines stromal cell-derived factor α (SDF-1α), granulocyte colony stimulating factor an...

A study of dural calcification is presented. The detection by roentgenography of 164 cases of dural calcification among 1,162 neurological and neurosurgical patients represented an incidence of 14%. Such calcification occurred with the greatest frequency in the falx cerebri, tentorium cerebelli and petroclinoid ligament. The main contributing factors and clinical significance of dural calcifica...

A study ef dural calcification is presented. The detection by roentgenography of 164 cases of dural calcification among 1,162 neurological and neurosurgical patients represented an incidenoe of 14%. Such calcification occurred with the greatest frequency in the falx cerebri, tentorium cerebelli and petroclinoid ligament, The main contributing factors and clinical significance of dural calcifica...

Calcification of gastric carcinoma is unusual and most of the reported cases were of the mucinous type. This report describes two cases of papillo-tubular adenocarcinoma of the stomach with psammomatous calcification confined only to the papillary portion. Calcification was so heavy that specimen X-ray was able to clearly delineate its distribution. Microscopically, the calcification was confin...

Vascular calcification is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and contributes to the increased rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms regulating vascular calcification are under investigation; it is accepted that vascular calcification is an active and complex process involving many factors that promote or inhibit calcification. Vascular smooth muscle ce...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine atheroma progression in patients with spotty calcification. BACKGROUND Although extensively calcified atherosclerotic lesions have been proposed to be clinically quiescent, the presence of spotty calcification within plaque has been reported to be associated with an increased incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events. The relationship be...

BACKGROUND Although depression is a well-documented risk factor for clinical heart disease, its association with subclinical atherosclerosis is unclear. We hypothesized that middle-aged women with a history of recurrent major depression would show evidence of atherosclerosis. METHODS Coronary and aortic calcification was measured by electron beam tomography in 58 African American and 152 whit...