title: Plasma Lp-PLA2 in acute coronary syndrome: association with major adverse cardiac events in a community-based cohort.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is a useful inflammatory marker of cardiovascular risk, yet there are few reports on the prognostic significance of Lp-PLA2 as a risk factor for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). It is necessary to evaluate the association of Lp-PLA2 with major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with ACS and assess its incremental value for risk discrimination over established risk factors and biomarkers.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred fifty-two patients with ACS and 142 patients without coronary artery disease (CAD) from Shanghai Xuhui District, PRC (aged < 80 years) were enrolled from February 2007 to March 2008 and were followed for a median of 6 months (range, 4-10 months). Plasma Lp-PLA2 activity was measured at baseline with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Its clinical significance was evaluated with existing risk indicators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lp-PLA2 activity was higher in patients with ACS than in patients without CAD (22.36 +/- 1.23 mg/mL vs 19.74 +/- 3.85 mg/mL; P = 0.027). During the follow-up period, 5 cases of cardiovascular death, 8 cases of nonfatal myocardial infarction, and 11 cases of target vessel revascularization occurred. Elevated Lp-PLA2 was associated with an increased risk of MACE (hazard ratio, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-2.37; P = 0.033). The Lp-PLA2 activity level in incidental cases was higher than in nonincidental cases (P = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this community-based cohort of patients with ACS, Lp-PLA2 was strongly and independently associated with major adverse cardiac events and contributed incrementally to risk discrimination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Shanghai, PRC.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shuijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shuiming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D043203:1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase / Q000097:blood*; D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000201:enzymology*; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054467:Phospholipases A2; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D054467:Phospholipases A2; D043203:1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase