title: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2): a review of its role and significance as a cardiovascular biomarker.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To conduct a comprehensive, systematic review of studies assessing the significance of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of the literature was performed using the search term "Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2)" and each of the following terms: "cardiovascular risk," "cardiovascular death," "atherosclerotic disease," "coronary events," "transient ischemic attack (TIA)," "stroke," and "heart failure." The searches were performed on Medline, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of published studies showed a significant association between Lp-PLA2 levels and cardiovascular events after multivariate adjustment. The association was consistent across a wide variety of subjects of both sexes and different ethnic backgrounds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The role of Lp-PLA2 as a significant biomarker of vascular inflammation was confirmed, and Lp-PLA2 seems to be closely correlated to cardiovascular events. It may be an important therapeutic target and may have an important role in prevention, risk stratification and personalised medicine.
authors.affiliation: Medcenter, Cardiology, Bucharest, Romania. oanatoana@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Oana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vittos
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Toana
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vittos
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moldoveanu
mesh_terms: D043203:1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D018384:Oxidative Stress
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D008074:Lipoproteins; D043203:1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase