title: Is there any relationship between Chlamydophila pneumoniae and coronary atherosclerosis among Iranians?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atherosclerosis is a coronary heart disease, andis the most common cause of death in the industrialized world. Some studies suggested that atherosclerosis may be triggered by infectious agents, mostly Chlamydophila pneumoniae. However, the role of C. pneumoniae in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis is still controversial.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was performed to evaluate whether there is a significant association between coronary artery atherosclerosis and C. pneumoniae by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.
  
  
  METHODS
  This case-control study was carried out on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue biopsies of the coronary arteries obtained from 30 patients with coronary atherosclerosis and 30 subjects without atherosclerosis living in Northeast of Iran. All subjects' weight and height were determined, and the body mass index was calculated. We also reviewed the medical history and previous laboratory reports of patients. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted, and C. pneumonia DNA was amplified and detected using PCR assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age of the patients in the study group was from 18 to 50 years, and the male to female ratio was 5:1. Only oneout of the 30 coronary tissue samples had positive PCR for C. pneumoniae (3.3%), while it was negative for patients in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that C. pneumoniae infection is not strongly associated with coronary artery atherosclerosis in Northeast of Iran.
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Centre, Ghaem Medical Centre, Mashhad, Iran.
authors: Mohammad Hadi
authors: MH
authors: Sadeghian
authors: Seyed Abbas Tabatabaee
authors: SA
authors: Yazdi
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Ayatollahi
authors: Mohammad Reza
authors: MR
authors: Keramati
authors: Kiarash
authors: K
authors: Ghazvini
authors: Ali Reza
authors: AR
authors: Rezai
authors: Nasrin
authors: N
authors: Heidari
authors: Maryam
authors: M
authors: Sheikhi
authors: Gohar
authors: G
authors: Shaghayegh
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Chlamydophila pneumonia; Iran; coronary artery
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