Lipid lowering therapy and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques.
Lipid-lowering therapy leads to a great reduction of cardiovascular complications, but has almost no effect on the degree of stenosis of coronary arteries. These and other studies have lead to a new paradigm of coronary artery disease, i. e. clinical prognosis is not only determined by the extent of a single stenosis, but mainly by the number and structure of atherosclerotic plaques. Rupture of an instable or vulnerable plaque, characterized by a large lipid-rich central core, inflammatory cells, and a thin fibrous cap, causes sudden thrombus formation and thereby acute coronary syndromes. There is accumulating evidence that cholesterol lowering can result in plaque stabilization and improvement of endothelial dysfunction.
Krone
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Klinik II und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin, University of Cologne, Germany.
Müller-Wieland
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D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism
D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents