Drakopoulou Maria, Toutouzas Konstantinos, Stefanadi Elli, Tsiamis Eleftherios, Tousoulis Dimitris, Stefanadis Christodoulos
1st Department of Cardiology, Medical School of Athens University, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Atherosclerosis. 2009 Oct;206(2):335-9. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.01.041. Epub 2009 Feb 7.
Inflammatory processes play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and mediate many of the stages of atheroma development, from initial leukocyte recruitment to eventual rupture of the unstable atherosclerotic plaque. Several systemic inflammatory markers reflect different degrees of inflammation and have been indicated as independent risk factors in cardiovascular disease, especially in unstable coronary syndromes. However, whether elevated levels of circulating inflammatory markers play a role in the extent and severity of atherosclerosis remains controversial. The present review summarizes our current understanding of the relationship between inflammatory markers and the presence and extent of coronary atherosclerosis, in order to assess the potential utility of these markers in identifying patients with higher levels of atherosclerotic burden.
炎症过程在动脉粥样硬化的发病机制中起关键作用，并介导动脉粥样硬化发展的许多阶段，从最初的白细胞募集到不稳定动脉粥样硬化斑块的最终破裂。几种全身性炎症标志物反映了不同程度的炎症，并已被指明是心血管疾病的独立危险因素，尤其是在不稳定型冠状动脉综合征中。然而，循环炎症标志物水平升高是否在动脉粥样硬化的范围和严重程度中起作用仍存在争议。本综述总结了我们目前对炎症标志物与冠状动脉粥样硬化的存在及范围之间关系的理解，以便评估这些标志物在识别动脉粥样硬化负担较高患者方面的潜在效用。
