Accelerated atherosclerosis in autoimmune rheumatic diseases
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Manole Cojocaru 1 * , Inimioara Mihaela Cojocaru, Isabela Silosi, Camelia Doina Vrabie
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1 Str. Thomas Masaryk No. 5 Sector 2 Postal Code 020983 Bucharest, Romania* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is increasingly considered an immune system-mediated process of the vascular system. Autoantibodies, autoantigens, pro-inflammatory cytokines and infectious agents play a role in that process. Autoimmunity-related cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis are important clinical problems. The reason for accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases remains unclear. Some cases of autoimmunity-related cardiovascular disease may be more related to thrombosis than atherosclerosis. Although, mechanisms causing the increased risk are not precisely clarified, a combination of traditional and nontraditional risk factors, including inflammation appears to be of importance. Further studies are needed to determine whether these autoimmune rheumatic diseases are also associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and its manifestations.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Review

J Clin Exp Invest, Volume 1, Issue 3, December 2010, 232-234

https://doi.org/10.5799/ahinjs.01.2010.03.0200

Publication date: 17 Dec 2010

Article Views: 2739

Article Downloads: 1054

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