Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis: from Koch postulates to clinical trials.
Atherosclerosis is increasingly viewed as an inflammatory process. A number of infectious agents have been implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. Chlamydia pneumoniae has been the most popular and well-studied of these pathogens. It is difficult to prove a causal relationship which requires the fulfillment of Koch's postulates, first developed in the late 1800s, to establish an infectious agent as the cause of a disease process. This paper reviews the evidence for and against Chlamydia pneumoniae infection as a contributing factor to atherosclerosis disease. It examines seroepidemiologic and histopathologic studies as well as animal models using Koch's postulates and then provides an analysis of current clinical trial data.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, 94110, USA.
Catherine
C
Liu
David D
DD
Waters
D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological