title: One-year observation of inflammatory markers in patients with aortic valve stenosis who expressed high or low Chlamydia pneumoniae antibody titers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) and atherosclerosis can be regarded as two manifestations of the same pathological process. The study aim was to evaluate annually the plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) in AVS patients, and to compare these data in AVS patients with and without high IgG, IgM, and IgA titers against Chlamydia pneumoniae.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty patients with AVS who had declined the offer of remedial surgery were allocated to groups according to their antibody titers: group A (n=30, high IgG titer), group B (n=30, low IgG titer), group C (n=22, high IgA titer), group D (n=38, low IgA titer), group E (n=7, high IgM titer), and group F (n=53, low IgM titer) Antibody titers, serum levels of inflammatory markers and echocardiographic scans were monitored at 12-month intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During a one-year observation period, a greater number of patients in group A showed AVS deterioration compared to group B (p < 0.02). The mean IgA and IgM titers in group A were higher than in group B, while mean serum CRP and IL-6 levels, and IgG titer, tended to be higher in group C compared to group D. No statistically significant differences were identified in mean serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNFalpha between groups A and B.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the study suggested a possible association between C. pneumoniae infection and the progression of AVS.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Cardiology, Jagiellonian University, Collegium Medicum, Cracow, Poland. grasshoppers@interia.eu
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swierszcz
authors.forename: Dubiel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jacek
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Milewicz
authors.forename: Józef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krzysiek
authors.forename: Krystyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sztefko
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galicka-Latała
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000150:complications; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002097:C-Reactive Protein