title: Early atherosclerotic lesions and post-mortem serum cholesterol level in a group of Colombian children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atherosclerosis is an asymptomatic chronic disease, which begins at early age and is difficult to detect during this stage. Prospective studies suggest a causal relationship between total serum cholesterol levels during childhood and early adolescence and the development of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of early atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta artery of children and its relationship with post-mortem serum cholesterol levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  Post-mortem samples of blood and aorta were taken from 43 subjects aged less than 17 years old. Histopathological analysis (intimal thickening and inflammatory infiltrates) of the thoracic aorta and measurement of total serum cholesterol were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis showed thickening of the intima and lymphocyte infiltrates in 93% of children, and macrophage infiltrates in 79.1% of cases. A relationship between the highest terciles of total serum cholesterol levels and the presence of multiple lesions in the aorta wall was found ( P <0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This group of children had a high prevalence of early inflammatory atherosclerotic lesions positively related with serum cholesterol levels. To our knowledge this study represents the first report of a relationship between post-mortem total serum cholesterol levels and pathological findings of macrophages and lymphocytes infiltrates in the aorta wall.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Nutrición, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: José Guillermo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Ortega-Ávila
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Mildrey
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mosquera
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Echeverri-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Bastidas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Milton Fabián
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Suárez-Ortegón
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pradilla
authors.affiliation: Grupo Registro Poblacional (sic.) de Cáncer, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis Eduardo
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Nutrición, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aguilar-de Plata
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001344:Autopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol