Heart disease case studies

Hwang SJ, Ballantyne CM, Sharrett AR, Smith LC, Davis CE, Gotto AM Jr, Boerwinkle E (1997) Circulating adhesion molecules VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and E-selectin in carotid atherosclerosis and incident coronary heart disease cases the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. Circulation 96 4219-4225... 

Weintraub,M.S.,Grosskopf, I.,Rassin,T.,Mitler, H.,Charach, G., Rotmensch, H.H., Liron, M., Rubinstein, A., and laina, A. (1996) Clearance of Chylomicron Remnants in Normolipidaemic Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Case Control Study over Three Yeats, Br. Med. J.312,935-939. 

Some scientific studies indicate that the gam in performance obtained through the use of anabolic steroids is small This may be a case though in which the anecdotal evidence of the athletes may be closer to the mark than the scientific studies The scientific studies are done under ethical conditions in which patients are treated with prescription level doses of steroids A 240 pound offensive tackle ( too small by todays standards) may take several ana bolic steroids at a time at 10-20 times their pre scribed doses in order to weigh the 280 pounds he (or his coach) feels is necessary The price athletes pay for gams in size and strength can be enormous This price includes emotional costs (friendships lost because of heightened aggressiveness) sterility testicular atro phy (the testes cease to function once the body starts to obtain a sufficient supply of testosterone like steroids from outside) and increased risk of prema ture death from liver cancer or heart disease... 

Some prospective and case-control studies also investigated the relationship of carotenoids and the evolution of CCA-IMT. Although the EVA study showed no association between total carotenoids and IMT, others like the ARIC study, the Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study, " and the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study demonstrated the protective role of isolated carotenoids such as lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and P-cryptoxanthin on IMT. Thus, findings from prospective and case-control studies have suggested that some carotenoids such as lycopene and P-carotene may present protective effects against CVD and particularly myocardial infarcts and intima media thickness, a marker of atherosclerosis. 

Lagiou, P. et al.. Intake of specific flavonoid classes and coronary heart diseased a case-control study in Greece, Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 58, 1643, 2004. 

J2. Jauhiainen, M., Koskinen, P., Ehnholm, C., Heikki Frick, M., Manttari, M., Manninen, V., and Huttunen, J. K., Lipoprotein(a) and coronary heart disease risk A nested case-control study of the Helsinki heart study participants. Atherosclerosis (Shannon, Irel.) 89, 59-76 (1991). 

R14. Rosengren, J., Wilhemsen, L., Erikssen, E., Risberg, B., and Wedel, H., Lipoprotein(a) and coronary heart disease A prospective case control study in a general population sample of middle aged men. BMJ 301, 1248-1251 (1990). 

Some studies of survivors of massive chlorine exposures have shown either persistent obstructive or restrictive deficits, but pre-exposure data on these patients were not available. Persistent respiratory symptoms, bronchial obstruction, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness were observed in 82%, 23%, and 41 % of chronically exposed pulp mill workers, respectively, 18-24 months after cessation of exposure." In most cases it is not known whether prolonged symptoms after chlorine exposure are due to aggravation of preexisting conditions such as tuberculosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or heart disease." "... 

Thus, the two case-controls studies from Scandinavian countries have reported beneficial associations between milk fat biomarkers and heart disease, while the study from the United States reported a positive association. The differences in results may well reflect the type of foods and the context in which the dairy food was consumed. In the United States, cheese and milk are commonly found in takeaway meals such as cheeseburgers and shakes, and often consumed with less healthy foods such as fries. 

Schwedhelm E., Bartling A., Lenzen H., Tsikas D., Maas R., Brummer J., Gutzki F. M., Berger J., Frolich J. C., and Boger R. H. (2004). Urinary 8-iso-prostaglandin F2a as a risk marker in patients with coronary heart disease - A matched case-control study. Circulation 109 843-848. 

Homocysteine isn t harmless. Evidence from population studies indicates that high levels of homocysteine in the blood are correlated with heart disease. Folic acid supplements may prevent this problem by ensuring that the homocysteine is rapidly converted to methionine. Similarly, pregnant women generally take folic acid supplements to prevent their babies from being bom with neural tube defects. The mechanism for its action isn t known, but the folic acid may help decrease the level of homocysteine in this case as well. 

Although most epidemiological studies on the relationships between plasma lipids and coronary heart disease have examined total plasma cholesterol (most of which is apoB-associated cholesterol) as a major risk factor, some case-control studies have shown that apoB-100 (i.e., apoB in LDL and VLDL) is higher in subjects with coronary heart disease than controls (A31, A32, F2, M34, 06, RIO, S43, V6, W14). It may be that apoB is itself a risk factor, and that a raised apoB concentration but normal LDL cholesterol will be a marker for a previously unsuspected group of people at risk from coronary heart disease (S43). An increasing body of evidence suggests that hyper-B-apoproteinemia may be an important risk factor for coronary heart disease. This evidence, and the possibility that apolipoprotein assays (in particular apoB and apoA-I assays) may serve as a better marker of risk for atherosclerosis than the standard lipid measurements, have been discussed by Brunzell et al. (B59). 

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