Current Atherosclerosis Reports 

About: Current Atherosclerosis Reports is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Medicine & Coronary artery disease. It has an ISSN identifier of 1523-3804. Over the lifetime, 1783 publications have been published receiving 55712 citations. The journal is also known as: Curr. Atheroscler. Rep..

Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most frequent and costly complication of type 2 diabetes. In this review, we examine the impact of diabetes on CVD. Shedding some light on the diabetes/CVD relationship are epidemiologic studies, which focused on Native Americans, who collectively experienced little or no diabetes or CVD in the past, but experience both conditions in epidemic proportions today. Almost half of the Native Americans studied had diabetes at baseline. When CVD events were stratified by diabetic status, the relative CVD risk among diabetic men was twice that of nondiabetic men, and the risk among diabetic women was threefold that of nondiabetic women. Among all CVD events, diabetes accounted for 56% in men and 78% in women; most CVD deaths occurred in those with diabetes. Recent attention has focused on defining the relative strength of CVD risk factors in diabetic populations. In many populations, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is lower in diabetic individuals. However, in American Indians, every 10-mg/dL increase in LDL cholesterol has been associated with a 12% increase in CVD risk and every 10-mg/dL decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was associated with an 8% increase in CVD risk. Albuminuria is an important predictor of CVD in diabetic populations. Those with macroalbuminuria had a CVD risk that was four to five times that of diabetic individuals without albuminuria. Other CVD risk factors in diabetes that have come under recent scrutiny in other populations are increased levels of fibrinogin, and C-reactive protein, and leukocytosis. Angiogenic response may be lower in diabetic individuals, and the possible role of infection is being examined in diabetic patients. LDL cholesterol and albuminuria should be the targets of preventive strategies, and promising new areas such as cytokines, growth factor, and the role of infection should be further explored.

Cardiovascular effects of intensive lifestyle intervention in type 2 diabetes.

Abstract: Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) was a randomized controlled trial that examined the impact of long-term participation in an intensive weight loss intervention on cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The results from this trial suggest that intensive lifestyle interventions are effective in helping patients to achieve management of cardiovascular risk factors and reducing the need to initiate medication usage to manage these conditions, though the benefits in terms of the prevention of CVD morbidity and mortality beyond those achieved through aggressive medical management of hypertension and dyslipidemia is not clear. Additional benefits of participation in an intensive lifestyle intervention such as lowered chronic kidney disease risk, blood pressure, medication usage, improved sleep apnea, and partial remission of diabetes are discussed.

Pleiotropic effects of statins.

Abstract: The advent of statin therapy has revolutionized the ability of the clinician to manage patients at risk for the development of an ischemic event due to dyslipidemia. Large-scale clinical trials involving thousands of patients in both primary and secondary prevention have clearly demonstrated that statin therapy will reduce cardiovascular mortality across a broad spectrum of patient subgroups. Additionally, in adequately powered trials, total mortality has been successfully decreased by the use of statin therapy. However, the precise mechanism underlying the benefit of statin therapy has been controversial due to the multiplicity of potential benefits that statins have demonstrated in addition to pure lipid lowering. The causal theory of pharmacologic benefit reiterates the lipid hypothesis, which states that dyslipidemia is central to the process of atherosclerosis and the clinical benefit which accrues from statin therapy is a function of the degree of lipid lowering. The noncausal theory supports the premise that clinical benefits are related primarily to pleiotropic effects of statins (endothelial function, inflammation, coagulation and plaque vulnerability) as being the major modulators of clinical benefit. This review will focus on the potential beneficial effects of statin therapy on a number of the pleiotropic effects of statins and the potential role that these activities play in the reduction of risk for ischemic events.

Oxidative Stress in Atherosclerosis.

Abstract: Atherosclerosis is now considered a chronic inflammatory disease. Oxidative stress induced by generation of excess reactive oxygen species has emerged as a critical, final common mechanism in atherosclerosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a group of small reactive molecules that play critical roles in the regulation of various cell functions and biological processes. Although essential for vascular homeostasis, uncontrolled production of ROS is implicated in vascular injury. Endogenous anti-oxidants function as checkpoints to avoid these untoward consequences of ROS, and an imbalance in the oxidant/anti-oxidant mechanisms leads to a state of oxidative stress. In this review, we discuss the role of ROS and anti-oxidant mechanisms in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, the role of oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and highlight potential anti-oxidant therapeutic strategies relevant to atherosclerosis. There is growing evidence on how traditional risk factors translate into oxidative stress and contribute to atherosclerosis. Clinical trials evaluating anti-oxidant supplements had failed to improve atherosclerosis. Current studies focus on newer ROS scavengers that specifically target mitochondrial ROS, newer nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, gene therapies, and anti-miRNAs. Synthetic LOX-1 modulators that inhibit the effects of Ox-LDL are currently in development. Research over the past few decades has led to identification of multiple ROS generating systems that could potentially be modulated in atherosclerosis. Therapeutic approaches currently being used for atheroslcerotic vascular disease such as aspirin, statins, and renin-angiotensin system inhibitors exert a pleiotropic antioxidative effects. There is ongoing research to identify novel therapeutic modalities to selectively target oxidative stress in atherosclerosis.