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Correlation of systemic inflammation with local inflammatory activity in non-culprit lesions: beneficial effect of

Konstantinos Toutouzas1, Maria Drakopoulou, Virginia Markou

  • 1ktoutouz@otenet.gr

International Journal of Cardiology
|January 30, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Systemic inflammation correlates with non-culprit lesion inflammation in patients with coronary artery disease. Statin therapy reduces heat production in these lesions, indicating a beneficial effect on local inflammation.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Inflammation Research
  • Atherosclerosis

Background:

  • Systemic and local inflammatory activation is observed in culprit lesions of acute coronary syndromes (ACS).
  • The correlation between systemic inflammation and non-culprit lesion inflammatory activation remains unclear.
  • The impact of statin therapy on non-culprit lesion inflammation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and plaque temperature in non-culprit lesions.
  • To determine if statin administration is associated with reduced heat production in non-culprit lesions.

Main Methods:

  • Seventy-one patients with ACS or stable angina (SA) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were included.
  • Systemic inflammation was assessed by CRP levels.
  • Local inflammatory activation was measured by the temperature difference (deltaT) in non-culprit lesions.

Main Results:

  • A positive correlation was found between deltaT and CRP values (R=0.46, p<0.001).
  • Patients with ACS exhibited higher deltaT compared to SA patients (p<0.01).
  • Statin treatment was associated with significantly lower deltaT in both ACS and SA groups (p=0.009 and p=0.04, respectively).

Conclusions:

  • Local inflammatory activation in non-culprit lesions is correlated with systemic inflammation.
  • Statin therapy demonstrates a beneficial effect by reducing heat production in non-culprit lesions.
Abstract

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