Cardiovascular research
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Cardiovascular research · Apr 2011
ReviewIschaemic heart disease in women: are there sex differences in pathophysiology and risk factors? Position paper from the working group on coronary pathophysiology and microcirculation of the European Society of Cardiology.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, and knowledge of the clinical consequences of atherosclerosis and CVD in women has grown tremendously over the past 20 years. Research efforts have increased and many reports on various aspects of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in women have been published highlighting sex differences in pathophysiology, presentation, and treatment of IHD. Data, however, remain limited. ⋯ Coronary endothelial dysfunction and microvascular disease have been proposed as important determinants in the aetiology and prognosis of IHD in women, but research is limited on whether sex differences in these mechanisms truly exist. Differences in the epidemiology of IHD between women and men remain largely unexplained, as we are still unable to explain why women are protected towards IHD until older age compared with men. Eventually, a better understanding of these processes and mechanisms may improve the prevention and the clinical management of IHD in women.
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Cardiovascular research · Apr 2011
Arterial injury promotes medial chondrogenesis in Sm22 knockout mice.
Expression of SM22 (also known as SM22alpha and transgelin), a vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) marker, is down-regulated in arterial diseases involving medial osteochondrogenesis. We investigated the effect of SM22 deficiency in a mouse artery injury model to determine the role of SM22 in arterial chondrogenesis. ⋯ These findings suggest that disruption of SM22 alters the actin cytoskeleton and promotes chondrogenic conversion of VSMCs.