ABSTRACT
The composition of atherosclerotic lesions that had decreased in size in patients that were treated and followed by sequential clinical imaging was not studied microscopically. Nor have descriptions or illustrations of lesion composition accompanied the autopsy reports that claimed regression of atherosclerosis in war time, or after terminal cancer or tuberculosis. Thus, nothing is known of the changes in the composition of human lesions that undoubtedly occur when high levels of atherogenic plasma lipoprotein are drastically reduced. For this reason, a description follows of the degree and sequence of regression of specific cell and matrix components in rhesus monkeys in the belief that this knowledge explains what may also happen in human lesions and thus serve as a guide for future therapy. The data are preceded by a summary of the design of the experiments from which they (and the illustrations of regression) have been obtained.
