The layman’s term “hardening of the arteries” is synonymous with vascular disease and describes the ubiquitous calcification of the intima and media of the vessel wall that occurs in atherosclerosis and aging. Vascular calcification measured and quantified by electron beam computer tomography is a powerful predictor of myocardial infarction, vascular complications such as amputation, and all-ca...

Vitamin K was discovered early last century at the same time as the vitamin K-antagonists. For many years the role of vitamin K was solely ascribed to coagulation and coagulation was thought to be involved only at the venous blood side. This view has dramatically changed with the discovery of vitamin K-dependent proteins outside the coagulation cascade and the role of coagulation factors at the...

OBJECTIVE The drug warfarin blocks carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins and acts as an anticoagulant and an accelerant of vascular calcification. The calcification inhibitor MGP (matrix Gla [carboxyglutamic acid] protein), produced by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), is a key target of warfarin action in promoting calcification; however, it remains unclear whether proteins in the ...

Vascular calcification is a common problem among the elderly and those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes. The process of tunica media vascular calcification in CKD appears to involve a phenotypic change in the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) resulting in cell-mediated mineralization of the extracellular matrix. The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are important regulators in o...

BACKGROUND Hyperphosphataemia is a risk factor for arterial calcification contributing to the high cardiovascular mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease. Calcium-based phosphate binders can induce hypercalcaemia and are associated with progression of vascular calcification. Therefore, the effect of lanthanum carbonate, a non-calcium phosphate binder, on the development of vascular ca...

Vascular calcification, bone loss and increased fracture risk are age-associated disorders. Several epidemiological studies have suggested a relationship between vascular calcification, impaired bone metabolism and increased mortality. So far, this relationship had been under-estimated as osteoporosis and vascular calcification have been considered non-modifiable disorders of aging. Recent data...

Vascular calcification is a pathologic phenomenon in which calcium phosphate is ectopically deposited in the arteries. Previously, calcification was considered to be a passive process in response to metabolic diseases, vascular or valvular diseases, or even aging. However, now calcification is recognized as a highly-regulated consequence, like bone formation, and many clinical trials have been ...

Recessive mutations in the NTE5 gene were recently described in lower-extremity vascular calcification. ENPP1 mutations were previously described in a severe disorder of vascular calcification in infancy. Together these data support that extracellular adenosine and pyrophosphate are essential components of the pathways in vascular disease. Arterial calcification by impairing blood flow and redu...

Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vascular calcification is a common complication in CKD, and investigators have demonstrated that the extent and histoanatomic type of vascular calcification are predictors of subsequent vascular mortality. Although research efforts in the past decade have greatly improved our knowledge of ...

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Vascular calcification is highly prevalent in this population and is an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. Vascular calcification in uraemic patients is known to be an active and regulated process subject to the action of many promoting and inhibitory factors. The r...