ABSTRACT

As many as 50% of patients with atherosclerosis lack currently identified risk factors, an observation suggesting that additional factors predisposing to atherosclerosis are as yet undetected.1 Atherosclerosis, formerly considered a lipid storage disease, actually involves an ongoing inflammatory response. Inflammation in the arterial vessel wall is considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.2,3 Recent advances have established a fundamental role for inflammation in mediating all stages of this disease, from initiation through progression and, ultimately, the thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis.3