Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) following atherosclerosis is a giant killer and the incidence of atherosclerosis in coronary arteries is rapidly increasing among Indians. The study was formulated to assess the histomorphological atherosclerotic changes in aorta and coronary arteries at autopsy by applying the modified American Heart Association classification of atherosclerosis based on morphological descriptions to find out the age and sex related prevalence of atherosclerosis in the semi-urban population of Kolar, a district in Southern India. Materials and Methods: Autopsy was conducted on 113 cases whose age ranged from 8-85 years. Autopsy was conducted by the conventional technique; heart and the aorta were removed and fixed in 10% formalin. The heart was dissected along the direction of flow of blood and aorta along the posterior surface. Microscopic assessment of the three main coronary arteries and aorta was done using the modified American Heart Association classification of atherosclerosis. Proportions were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: The number of males was 78 (69%) and number of females was 35 (31%). Mean age was 37.11 ± 15.69 years. Increased incidence of intermediate lesions was noted in young individuals (15-34 yrs). Atherosclerotic lesions were more in left anterior descending artery compared to other coronary arteries and in abdominal aorta compared to thoracic and ascending aorta. Vulnerable plaques were more in right coronary artery. Conclusion: With cardiovascular disease attaining pandemic proportions, the study of subclinical atherosclerosis is the need of the hour to estimate the disease burden in the asymptomatic population. The increased amount of atherosclerosis (advanced and intermediate lesions) found in the young population in this study gives an indication that anti-atherogenic preventive measures need to be implemented in young individuals, so as to prevent coronary artery disease from causing premature death.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition and infectious diseases are believed to contribute to its pathophysiology. Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease of the supporting tissues of the teeth, and the epidemiological association with atherosclerosis is now beyond doubt. However causal mechanisms are still lacking; research suggests that bacteria from the periodontal lesions may enter atherosclerotic plaques. Alternatively, elevated CRP and a prothrombotic state in periodontitis contribute to exacerbation of atherosclerosis. Finally, the link may also be explained by polymorphisms in the ANRIL gene, which has been associated with both atherosclerosis and periodontitis. Previous studies used surrogate biomarkers to investigate the association between atherosclerosis and periodontitis, and to evaluate the effects of periodontal intervention. Unfortunately, more definitive cardiovascular parameters are still lacking, because of methodological difficulties in study design and ethical considerations.

Background: In patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), carotid artery intima media thickness (CAIMT) is increased when the patients are on hemodialysis. Vascular events caused by atherosclerosis are the major cause of death in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Aims: This study was done to find out the relationship between carotid artery intima media thickness and hemodialysis in chronic renal failure patients independent of classical risk factors and also the relationship between CAIMT of hemodialyzed patients and nonhemodialyzed CRF patients. Materials and Methods: In this observational study, CAIMT of 78 CRF patients was examined by B-mode ultrasonography. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated by using the "Modification of Diet in Renal Disease" formula. CRF patients, who had been on regular hemodialysis treatment (treated thrice weekly) for at least 6 months, were identified as hemodialyzed patients. Data were analyzed by software Statistical package for the social Sciences (SPSS) (17 ^th version). Results: There was significant positive correlation between CAIMT and hemodialysis (P=0.045) independent of traditional risk factors. Hemodialyzed patients had higher mean CAIMT (1136.30±21.21 μm, P<0.001) than mean CAIMT of age and sex matched nondialyzed patients (959.30±23.01 μm). Conclusion: Hemodialysis is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis in CRF patents. Hemodialyzed patients have significantly higher CAIMT than nondialyzed CRF patients.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a coronary heart disease, andis the most common cause of death in the industrialized world. Some studies suggested that atherosclerosis may be triggered by infectious agents, mostly Chlamydophila pneumoniae. However, the role of C. pneumoniae in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis is still controversial. Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate whether there is a significant association between coronary artery atherosclerosis and C. pneumoniae by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was carried out on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue biopsies of the coronary arteries obtained from 30 patients with coronary atherosclerosis and 30 subjects without atherosclerosis living in Northeast of Iran. All subjects' weight and height were determined, and the body mass index was calculated. We also reviewed the medical history and previous laboratory reports of patients. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted, and C. pneumonia DNA was amplified and detected using PCR assay. Results: The age of the patients in the study group was from 18 to 50 years, and the male to female ratio was 5:1. Only oneout of the 30 coronary tissue samples had positive PCR for C. pneumoniae (3.3%), while it was negative for patients in the control group. Conclusions: This study showed that C. pneumoniae infection is not strongly associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis in Northeast of Iran.

Hyperosmolar food causes atherosclerosis. Hyperosmolal food hypothesis encompasses all the factors involved under one heading and, that is, the generation of heat in the body. The involvement of cigarette smoking is obvious. High glycemic index food and diabetes result in high levels of blood glucose, which raises the core body temperature. The ingestion of hyperosmolal salt, glucose, and amino acids singularly or synergistically raise the core body temperature, forcing abdominal aorta to form an insulation wall of fatty material causing atherosclerotic plaques. The osmolarity of food, that is glucose, salt, and amino acids is reduced when water is ingested with food. The incidence of atherosclerosis goes down with increasing intake of water.

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial vascular inflammatory process; however, the inciting cause for inflammation remains unclear. Two decades ago, Chlamydophila pneumoniae (formerly Chlamydia pneumoniae) infection was proposed as a putative etiologic agent. We performed a PubMed search using the keywords Chlamydia and atherosclerosis in a Boolean query to identify published studies on C. pneumoniae and its role in atherogenesis, and to understand research interest in this topic. We found 1,652 published articles on this topic between 1991 and 2011. We analyzed relevant published studies and found various serological, molecular, and animal modeling studies in the early period. Encouraged by positive results from these studies, more than a dozen antibiotic clinical-trials were subsequently conducted, which did not find clinical benefits of anti-Chlamydophila drug therapy. While many researchers believe that the organism is still important, negative clinical trials had a similar impact on overall research interest. With many novel mechanisms identified for atherogenesis, there is a need for newer paradigms in Chlamydophila-atherosclerosis research.

To address the question if an altered oral microbiota is associated with atherosclerosis. Twenty patients suffering from atherosclerosis and 10 controls were recruited. Clinical oral, medical and laboratory investigations were performed. Oral bacteria were collected and 16S rDNA was sequenced following Single strand conformation polymorphism.(SSCP) Probing pocket depths in patients were significantly elevated. The oral microbiota of patients and controls were dominated by Fusobacterium (16%/17%), Streptococcus (21%/14%), Prevotella (10%/12%), Enterococcus (12%/12%), Porphyromonas (8%/7%), TM7 (0%/7%) and Veillonella (6%/7%). Differences in diversity were not significant between groups. The pathology of atherosclerosis may not be related to significant qualitative changes of the oral microbiota.

An increasing number of patients under 40 years of age are being hospitalized with the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. This is partly due to the increased prevalance of risk factors for atherosclerosis in the younger age group; especially increased incidence of impaired fasting glucose, high triglyceride, low high-density lipoprotein levels and increased waist to hip ratio. However, non-atherosclerotic coronary artery disease or hypercoagulability should also be investigated or at least suspected in the younger patients. The pathophysiology of different clinical conditions and disease states which cause acute coronary syndromes in the young patients are reviewed, and the diagnostic modalities and therapatic options for these conditions are briefly discussed by searching for "premature atherosclerosis", "hypercoagulable states", "risk factors for atherosclerosis in youth", "novel risk factors for atherosclerosis", "non-atherosclerotic coronary artery diseases" in PubMed.

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). This study attempts to identify the factors responsible for atherosclerosis in CRF patients using carotid artery intima media thickness (CAIMT) as a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: CAIMT was measured by high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography in 100 CRF patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Data were analyzed by software SPSS (17 ^th version) for Windows. Results: CRF patients had a significantly higher CAIMT (1026.83 ± 17.19 micron, mean ± SE, P < 0.001) than age- and sex-matched healthy controls (722.46 ± 7.61 micron). There was inverse correlation between CAIMT and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (P < 0.001) independent of traditional risk factors. There was also significant positive correlation between CAIMT and traditional risk factors of atherosclerosis. Ischemic heart disease (IHD) also showed positive correlation with CAIMT (P = 0.007) and inverse correlation with GFR (P = 0.005). Conclusions: There is high prevalence of atherosclerosis in CRF patients. CAIMT can be used to detect and predict future incidence of IHD in CRF patients.

Background: Atherosclerotic disease is the most common cause of death in the United States and prostate cancer has the highest incidence among males in the United States. Reports have indicated that atherosclerosis and cancers my share common pathoetiologic and pathogenetic cascades. If atherosclerosis and cancers have common pathoetiologic and pathogenetic cascades, both diseases will co-occur and patients may represent a potential target group for cancer screening interventions. Materials and Methods: Prostates and coronary vessels were examined from 37 deceased men, aged 50 years and older, who died unexpectedly and suddenly from traumatic causes. Tissue sections of the entire prostate were examined for benign and malignant lesions. Analysis of Variance was used to compare mean coronary artery atherosclerosis scores among groups of men with diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, intraepithelial neoplasm, benign hyperplasia and normal prostate glands. Results: Twelve prostates (32.5%) showed adenocarcinoma of the prostate, four with Gleason score 7 and eight with Gleason score 6. After adjustment for age and race, there remained no statistical difference between prostate pathology groups and atherosclerosis score (F = 0.72; P = 0.55). Conclusions: To our knowledge, ours is the first study to use direct pathological examination of tissues for definitive identification of atherosclerosis and prostate cancer. In our case series, the occurrence and progression of coronary atherosclerotic disease and cancer of the prostate were not associated.