title: [Chlamydia pneumoniae chronic infection in the development of arteriosclerosis].
abstract: On the basis of several epidemiological investigations performed simultaneously in the eighties and then in early nineties, a presumption has been put forward that is a relationship between the incidence of arteriosclerosis, especially of the coronary arteries and the presence of antibodies against antigens of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the blood serum. These investigations revealed that an infections by Chlamydia pneumoniae is an independent risk factor in the development of arteriosclerosis as well as hypertension, cigarette smoking and increased level of lipids in the blood serum. The present work is a survey of the current literature on the subject of presumable role of these bacteria in the process of arteriosclerosis. Clinical and epidemiological reports have been presented and two investigations on the animal models using rabbits and mice have been discussed. On the basis of the presented studies, it can be observed that Chlamydia pneumoniae has a specific tendency to accumulate not only in the respiratory system, but also in the arteries affected by arteriosclerosis. However, studies of the relationship between an infections by these bacteria and development of arteriosclerosis are far from final explanation of this problem.
authors.affiliation: Oddziału Chorób Płuc 5 Wojskowego Szpitala Klinicznego w Krakowie.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nalepa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011817:Rabbits
vernacular_title: Rola przewlekłego zakazenia Chlamydia pneumoniae w rozwoju miazdzycy tetnic.