Current Vascular Pharmacology - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2008

Starting in the 1970s the hypothesis that the low mortality from coronary heart disease among the Greenland Eskimos was due to their high consumption of n-3 fish oil fatty acids, initiated many studies to find if the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oils (PUFAs) could prevent cardiac atherosclerosis. To date this possibility has not achieved clinical recognition. The recent literature shows an increase of intervention studi Read More

Familial combined hyperlipidaemia (FCH) was identified in early genetic studies of populations as a dominant condition associated with mixed hyperlipidaemia and early onset coronary heart disease. Later studies extended the phenotype and noted that this genetic hyperlipidaemia was sensitive to environmental effects. This article reviews the definitions, animal models and genetics of FCH. In contrast to familial hyperch Read More

The diabetic foot remains a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Ischaemia due to peripheral arterial disease significantly contributes to its pathogenesis and natural history. Increased revascularisation has been decisive in improving outcomes. However, there is still a need for further improvement. Advances in the treatment of ischaemia in the diabetic foot include therapeutic angiogenesis, stem cell therapy and misc Read More

The goal of acute stroke therapy is to salvage brain tissue by rapid cerebral artery recanalization to improve microcirculation. A major drawback of fibrinolysis is the activation of platelets leading to a high rate of re-occlusion. Antagonists of the platelet GPIIb/IIIa-receptor inhibit the binding of fibrinogen to platelets counteracting secondary thrombus formation. Also, they were shown to suppress thrombembolus formation and t Read More

The murine carotid artery ligation (CAL) model has been widely used in the research of intimal hyperplasia, a major pathological process in vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis after angioplasty. Using a variety of gene knockout or transgenic mice and different pharmacological interventions, these studies have yielded significant new findings that contribute not only to unraveling the basic molec Read More

Despite many advances achieved to date, heart failure (HF) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. There is a widely-accepted consensus that HF and diabetes are strongly linked by at least 3 mechanisms: associated comorbidities, coronary atherosclerosis or a specific diabetic cardiomiopathy. For the last 2 mechanisms, advanced glycation end-products may contribute to trigger key processes relevant t Read More

Platelet activation induces rapid thrombus formation at a ruptured atherosclerotic plaque leading to acute vessel occlusion and a fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event. More recent evidence suggests that activated platelets play an additional central role during the initiation of atherosclerosis, essentially facilitating leukocyte adhesion and recruitment. Endothelial dysfunction is a common and early feature of cardiovascular dise Read More

This article reviews randomized control trials (RCT's) published in 2006 of various medications evaluated for stroke patients. These trials were primarily efficacy studies. These included aggrenox (an antiplatelet agent), magnesium (to treat arterial spasm after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage), NXY (a free radical trapping agent) and albumin which were both tested as a neuroprotectant, amphetamine (to aid moto Read More

Dyslipidaemia is a common and consistent abnormality in insulin resistant subjects with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Lipoprotein metabolism is complex and abnormal plasma concentrations can result from alterations in the rates of production and/or catabolism of diverse lipoprotein particles. Our understandings of the dysregulation and therapeutic regulatio Read More