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- Fagerberg, Björn, 1943, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating Autoantibodies against the Apolipoprotein B-100 Peptides p45 and p210 in Relation to the Occurrence of Carotid Plaques in 64-Year-Old Women
- 2015
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Immune responses against oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL) play a key role in atherosclerosis. Previous studies have indicated inverse associations between autoantibodies to epitopes in oxidized LDL and cardiovascular disease. In this study we investigated the associations between autoantibodies against the apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100) peptides p45 and p210 and occurrence of carotid plaques. The study cohort consisted of a population-based sample of 64-year-old women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance (n=594). To identify and record the occurrence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques ultrasonography was used. Measurements of plasma IgM and IgG autoantibodies against the native and malondialdehyde (MDA)-modified apoB-100 peptides p45 and p210 were performed by ELISA. Women with carotid plaques were found to have lower levels of IgM MDA-p210 autoantibodies compared to plaque-free women. The number of carotid plaques in each subject and the total carotid plaque area correlated inversely with IgM MDA-p210 levels (r=-0.11, P=0.009 and r=-0.11, P=0.013, respectively). Furthermore, levels of IgM MDA-p210 above the lowest tertile were associated with an odds ratio of 0.55 (95% CI 0.38-0.79, P=0.001) for occurrence of carotid plaques, independently of other risk markers and statin treatment. Associations between apo-B100 peptide autoantibodies and cardiovascular risk factors were generally weak but subjects with impaired glucose tolerance had higher levels of IgM against MDA-p210. The present study demonstrates that high levels of IgM against MDA-p210 are associated with less severe carotid disease in women. These findings provide additional support for a role of immune responses against oxidized LDL in cardiovascular disease.
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| 2. |
- Hjelmgren, Ola, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of Vascularised Carotid Plaques Using a Standardised and Reproducible Technique to Measure Ultrasound Contrast Uptake
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. - : Elsevier BV. - 1078-5884 .- 1532-2165. ; 46:1, s. 21-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) has been used to assess the vascularisation of carotid plaques. Our aim was to develop and validate a standardised semi-automated method for CEUS examination of plaques, and test if the technique could be used to identify vulnerable plaques. Methods: Study participants were a mixed population of symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects, selected if they had a plaque with height >2.5 mm and <10% acoustic shadowing. Participants received a bolus of ultrasound contrast agent and a 90-s cine-loop was captured. A Contrast Quantification Program (CQP) was developed and trained to identify extent of contrast uptake after motion correction and application of a noise reduction algorithm. The technique was validated by comparing CQP values with visual assessment of contrast uptake. CQP values were also compared with plaque echogenicity and history of clinical events. Results: CQP values correlated with a visual, 5-scale classification of contrast uptake by two blinded, experienced sonographers. Repeated contrast injections showed high reproducibility. Participants with a history of ipsilateral stroke/TIA had significantly higher CQP values than asymptomatic participants. Conclusion: We present a reproducible, semi-automatic method to identify vascularisation of carotid plaques, which could be used in prospective studies to determine the clinical value of plaque vascularisation. (C) 2013 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Prahl, Ulrica, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Percentage White: A New Feature for Ultrasound Classification of Plaque Echogenicity in Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Ultrasound in medicine & biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-291X .- 0301-5629.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atherosclerotic stenotic and nonstenotic plaques of the carotid artery with low echogenicity have been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease. The aim was to develop a new method for semiautomated ultrasound image analysis to classify nonstenotic carotid plaques, evaluate cases with multiple plaques and examine the association between a new image analysis feature of echogenicity and predictors of cardiovascular disease. The new image analysis feature, percentage white (PW), represents the fraction of bright structures inside a plaque and is integrated in an objective semiautomated method to evaluate echogenicity (SAMEE) in carotid plaques. PW was constructed to take into account overall echogenicity of the image as well as noise surrounding the plaque. Consecutive ultrasound examinations of carotid plaques from a population-based screening of 64-year-old women with varying risk for cardiovascular disease were selected for the present project; 92 far-wall and 47 near-wall plaques were used as a training dataset to develop the SAMEE algorithm with visual classification according to Gray-Weale as reference; 273 plaques were used to validate the method. All plaques were included in an analysis relating predictors of cardiovascular to average PW in all plaques, PW in the biggest plaque and to the plaque with lowest PW in each subject, respectively. In the training dataset the intermethodological variability between SAMEE and visual classification showed a kappa of 0.78 and a sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 81%, respectively. In the validation set, SAMEE and visual classification showed a kappa of 0.77, a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 80%. The reproducibility of PW was high, evidenced by r = 0.96 and CV = 9.85% at repeated examinations. Average PW values were associated with several predictors of cardiovascular risk: lipoprotein (a), HbA1c, blood glucose, apolipoproteinB/apolipoproteinA-I; and associated negatively with the levels of adiponectin and apolipoprotein A-I. In conclusion, PW integrated within a SAMEE is a new feature for assessment of echogenicity in carotid plaques and shows excellent reproducibility and agreement with visual assessment.
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| 5. |
- Prahl, Ulrica, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Slightly elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentrations are associated with carotid atherosclerosis in women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Angiology. - : SAGE Publications. - 1940-1574 .- 0003-3197. ; 61:8, s. 793-801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined whether high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) ≥2.0 mg/L was associated with increased intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque burden, and plaque echolucency in carotid arteries. Women (n = 635) from a population sample of 64-year-old females with varying degrees of glucose tolerance underwent risk factor assessment, measurement of hsCRP, and ultrasound examinations of the carotid arteries. Participants with hsCRP levels ≥2.0 mg/L had elevated carotid bulb IMT independently of other cardiovascular risk factors compared with those with hsCRP <2.0 mg/L. The participants with plaques in the highhsCRP group had larger total plaque area compared to those with plaque in the lower hsCRP group. Plaque echolucency did not differ between groups. High-sensitivity CRP levels ≥2.0 mg/L were accompanied by elevated IMT in the carotid bulbs independently of other cardiovascular risk factors. Total plaque area was larger among women with plaques in the high hsCRP group versus the lower hsCRP group.
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| 6. |
- Ryndel, Mikael, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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The haptoglobin 2-2 genotype is associated with carotid atherosclerosis in 64-year old women with established diabetes.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-3492.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Haptoglobin polymorphism generates three common human genotypes: Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2. Among subjects with diabetes, Hp2-2 is associated with an elevated risk to develop cardiovascular disease. The impact of haptoglobin genotype on subclinical carotid atherosclerosis is not known. We hypothesised that Hp2-2 was associated with increased occurrence of carotid atherosclerosis in subjects with diabetes. METHODS: We studied a population-based sample of 64-year old women with diabetes (n=226), either established diabetes known before study entry (n=116) or new diabetes detected at study screening. Haptoglobin genotype was determined by PCR. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by ultrasound imaging. RESULTS: In the entire diabetes cohort, no differences were observed in carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) or plaque prevalence between the genotype groups. However, among those with established diabetes, Hp2-2 was associated with higher plaque prevalence and larger carotid IMT compared with the Hp2-1 and Hp1-1 genotypes. Common cardiovascular risk factors did not differ between the genotype groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Hp2-2 genotype was associated with increased occurrence of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in 64-year old women with established diabetes. This association was not explained by traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These results extend previous observations that Hp2-2 is associated with clinical cardiovascular disease in diabetes.
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