title: Variance in Biomarker Usefulness as Indicators for Carotid and Coronary Atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease. Nevertheless, the role of specific biomarkers as indicators for both coronary and carotid diseases is debatable.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association of biomarkers with coronary and carotid disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 522 consecutive patients with stable angina. All underwent coronary angiography and carotid duplex study on the same day. Patients with no apparent carotid plaques were evaluated for carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) using an automated system that sampled over 100 samples in each carotid artery. Biochemical markers of cardiovascular disease risk were obtained at the time of coronary angiography, including serum lipid levels, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), white blood cell count, fibrinogen and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 66 ± 11; 73% were males. Significant carotid stenosis was associated with higher hs-CRP (9.4 ± 17 vs. 6.3 ± 13 mg/L, P = 0.001), while high HbA1c (6.7 ± 1.6 vs. 5.8 ± 0.8%, P 0.001) and low high density lipoprotein levels (40 ± 9 vs. 47 ± 14 mg/dl, P < 0.001) were linked with advanced coronary artery disease severity. In contrast, CIMT was not related to any of the biomarkers evaluated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although atherosclerosis is considered a systemic disease, different biomarkers are associated with coronary and carotid artery disease. Identifying the specific biomarkers for each disease is important for both prevention and for exposing the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism.
authors.forename: Michal Laufer
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Perl
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.forename: Miri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Revivo
authors.forename: Shlomo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berliner
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Herz
authors.forename: Itay
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rabinovich
authors.forename: Tomer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ziv-Baran
authors.forename: Dalit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gotler
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keren
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bana
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arbel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers