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Coronary patients with low levels of an immune system antibodycalled anti-PC, which neutralises parts of the 'bad' cholesterol , run a greater risk of suffering complications following an acutecardiac episode and thus of premature death. This according to newresearch from Karolinska Institutet published in the scientificperiodical The International Journal of Cardiology. "We're hoping that injections of anti-PC can form part of thetreatment received by coronary patients," says principalinvestigator Professor Johan Frosteg rd from the Institute ofEnvironmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. The main cause of myocardial infarction is atherosclerosis, inwhich plaque forms along the vascular walls and that has proved tobe an inflammatory disease. The plaque contains large amounts ofmodified and oxidised bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, orLDL), which could also be described as a kind of rancid fat. Thereare also a great many dead cells. Problems arise when the body isunable to cleanse away these harmful plaque substances, and if theplaque then ruptures it can cause a stroke or heart attack . Antibodies are formed to defend the body from what it treats asdangerous substances and foreign bodies. Apart from germs, thisalso includes dead cells. The team behind the present study havepreviously shown that there are natural antibodies (anti-PC) to thelipid phosphorylcholine (PC), which is found in, amongst othersubstances, LDL cholesterol and dead cells. Their hypothesis isthat excessively low levels of anti-PC can be a contributor toatherosclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. The present study in The International Journal of Cardiology shows that patients with low levels of anti-PC in connection withacute coronary syndromes and refractory, unstable angina run a greater risk of complications and premature death. The riskof death was more than double in coronary patients with low levelsof anti-PC, who also had a significantly higher risk of additionalheart attacks or other complications. The study included 1,185 patients who had been admitted toSahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg for acute coronarydisease between September 1995 and March 2001. The blood samples onwhich the analyses were based were taken within 24 hours of theirarrival. According to Professor Frosteg rd, the results suggest thatanti-PC can have a protective effect on cardiovascular disease byinhibiting inflammation and cell death. His team has spent manyyears developing immunological treatments for atheroscleroticplaque based on exploiting anti-PC to target phosphorylcholine. Thework is done in part through a company set up within KarolinskaInstitutet's innovation system, and the model they have developedhas been patented. "The immunological treatment of cardiovascular diseases is clearlya Swedish speciality," says Professor Frosteg rd. "Other Swedishresearchers maintain that it's apolipoprotein B, an importantconstituent of LDL, that we should be vaccinating against, but thetwo aren't mutually exclusive and a combination is conceivable andsomething that we're now also testing." Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as T8 LED Tube Lights , LED Spotlight Bulbs, and more. For more , please visit T8 LED Tube Lights today!
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