title: Association between pentraxin 3 levels and aortic valve calcification.
abstract: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) reflects the state of aortic valve sclerosis (AVS), which is a precursor to aortic valve stenosis (AS). Therefore, we investigated the presence of AVC in patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), which is an effective tool for evaluating early-stage AVC, and examined the association between plasma levels of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and AVC.
  
  
  
  The subjects consisted of 162 consecutive patients who underwent CTA and in whom we could measure plasma levels of PTX3. We divided the patients into an AVC group (n=42) and a non-AVC group (n=120), as assessed by CT. Furthermore, we divided the patients without AS, assessed by echocardiography, into non-AS AVC (n=23) and non-AS non-AVC groups (n=60). We analyzed the predictors of the presence of AVC in all patients by a logistic regression analysis. AVC was independently associated with PTX3, in addition to age, chronic kidney disease, and coronary artery calcification. We also examined the predictors of the presence of AVC in patients without AS. PTX3, in addition to age, was an independent predictor of the presence of AVC in patients without AS. Finally, we found that adding PTX3 to the model containing age improves the specificity and, therefore, positive predictive value for AVC.
  
  
  
  PTX3, in addition to age, was shown to be an independent predictor of AVC in patients without AS. The combination of age and PTX3 may be a better approach to the evaluation of AVC than either of these alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norimatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Molecular Cardiovascular Therapeutics, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: miuras@cis.fukuoka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suematsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiga
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyase
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan; Department of Molecular Cardiovascular Therapeutics, Fukuoka University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Keijiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saku
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012598:Sclerosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component / Q000032:analysis*; D000099153:Pentraxins
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000683:Serum Amyloid P-Component; D000099153:Pentraxins
keywords: Aortic valve calcification; Aortic valve sclerosis; Aortic valve stenosis; Coronary computed tomography angiography; Pentraxin 3