Advanced atherosclerosis is often associated with dystrophic calcification, which may contribute to plaque rupture and thrombosis. In this work, the localization and association of the noncollagenous bone matrix proteins osteonectin, osteopontin, and osteocalcin with calcification, lipoproteins, thrombus/hemorrhage (T/H), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in human carotid arteries from endar...

UNLABELLED The global coronary calcium score has been widely used in the evaluation of coronary plaque burden and cardiovascular disease events. In this study, we investigated the value of segmental coronary calcium score (SCCS) on the diagnosis and interventional treatment. We studied 87 patients with coronary angiography (CAG) and coronary CT angiography (CTA) by 320-slice dynamic volume CT (...

Background: The study was designed to investigate the association between polymorphisms of the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) gene (rs12762303) and the arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating proteingene (rs3802278), and markers of carotid atherosclerosis, such as carotid intima media thickness, the number of affected segments of carotid arteries and the sum of plaque thickness in patients ...

OBJECTIVE Ectopic calcification localized to the intima of atherosclerotic plaque is a risk marker for cardiovascular events and increases the risk of aortic dissection during angioplasty. A variety of extracellular matrix molecules such as collagen type 1, bone sialoprotein, and osteopontin are known to regulate the biomineralization of bone and ectopic vascular calcification. In the present s...

PURPOSE Contrast enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has been used as an alternative to coronary angiography for the assessment of coronary artery disease in the patient of the intermediate risk group. However, coronary calcium is a known limiting factor for MDCT evaluation. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of 64-channel MDCT with each coronary artery calcium score (CACS) b...

OBJECTIVE Earlier we suggested that atheroma lesions constitute a "death zone" containing toxic materials that may cause dysfunction and demise of invading macrophages to prevent the removal of plaque materials. Here we have assessed the cytotoxic effects of nonfractionated gruel and insoluble (ceroid-like) material derived from advanced human atheroma. METHODS AND RESULTS The insoluble mater...

Neoangiogenesis and inflammation have a pivotal role in atherosclerosis. Observations support the hypothesis that calcified aortic valve stenosis is an inflammatory process, similar to atherosclerosis in tissue features and risk factors. We studied 2 groups of cases: 47 were affected by hemodynamic atherosclerotic carotid plaque (group 1) and 35 by severe calcified aortic valve stenosis (group ...

Largely on the basis of results from meta-analyses of observational studies, postmenopausal estrogen was widely prescribed to prevent coronary heart disease. However, epidemiologic studies, no matter how consistent and coherent, are not sufficient to recommend mass preventive therapy to healthy women. In fact, all three large clinical trials failed to confirm estrogen's expected cardiac protect...

Quantitative characterization of atherosclerotic plaque composition with standard histopathological methods remains limited to sectioned plaques. Raman spectroscopy enables nondestructive quantification of atherosclerotic plaque composition. We used Raman spectroscopy to study the effects of diet and lipid-lowering therapy on plaque development in apolipoprotein (APO) E*3-Leiden transgenic mice...

Dental calculus or tartar is an adherent calcified mass that form on the surface of teeth and dental appliance through mineralization of bacterial dental plaque in aqueous environment. Dental calculus plays a vital role in aggravating the periodontal disease by acting as reservoir for the bacterial plaque and providing the protected-covered niche for bacteria to proliferate. Based upon the loca...