Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, 1650 Owens Street #149, San Francisco, California 94158, USA.
Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2011 May;10(5):365-76. doi: 10.1038/nrd3444.
Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke and is thus the underlying pathology of the leading causes of death in the western world. Although risk can be reduced by lowering lipid levels, the equally important contribution of inflammation to the development of cardiovascular disease is not adequately addressed by existing therapies. Here, we summarize the evidence supporting a role for inflammation in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, discuss agents that are currently in the clinic and provide a perspective on the challenges faced in the development of drugs that target vascular inflammation.
动脉粥样硬化是心脏病和中风的主要病因，因此也是西方世界主要死亡原因的潜在病理学基础。尽管通过降低血脂水平可以降低风险，但现有疗法并不能充分解决炎症对心血管疾病发展的同等重要贡献。在这里，我们总结了支持炎症在动脉粥样硬化发病机制中起作用的证据，讨论了目前在临床使用的药物，并对靶向血管炎症的药物开发所面临的挑战提供了一个视角。
