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Review
. 2017 Apr;25(4):231-242.
doi: 10.1007/s12471-017-0959-2.

Pathophysiology and treatment of atherosclerosis : Current view and future perspective on lipoprotein modification treatment

S C Bergheanu  1   2 , M C Bodde  3 , J W Jukema  4
Affiliations
Review

Pathophysiology and treatment of atherosclerosis : Current view and future perspective on lipoprotein modification treatment

S C Bergheanu et al. Neth Heart J. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Recent years have brought a significant amount of new results in the field of atherosclerosis. A better understanding of the role of different lipoprotein particles in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques is now possible. Recent cardiovascular clinical trials have also shed more light upon the efficacy and safety of novel compounds targeting the main pathways of atherosclerosis and its cardiovascular complications.In this review, we first provide a background consisting of the current understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of atherosclerotic disease, followed by our future perspectives on several novel classes of drugs that target atherosclerosis. The focus of this update is on the pathophysiology and medical interventions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG) and lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)).

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease; Hypercholesterolaemia; Low-density lipoprotein; Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9; Statins.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.W. Jukema/his department has received research grants from and/or was speaker (with or without lecture fees) on a.o. (CME accredited) meetings sponsored by Amgen, Astra-Zeneca, Lilly, Merck-Schering-Plough, Pfizer, Sanofi Aventis, The Medicine Company, the Netherlands Heart Foundation, CardioVascular Research the Netherlands (CVON), the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands and the European Community Framework KP7 Programme. S.C. Bergheanu and M.C. Bodde declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relation between proportional reduction in incidence of major coronary events and major vascular events and mean absolute LDL cholesterol reduction at 1 year. Square represents a single trial plotted against mean absolute LDL cholesterol reduction at 1 year, with vertical lines above and below corresponding to one SE of unweighted event rate reduction. Trials are plotted in order of magnitude of difference in LDL cholesterol difference at 1 year. For each outcome, regression line (which is forced to pass through the origin) represents weighted event rate reduction per mmol/l LDL cholesterol reduction. (Figure published with permission of the Lancet (owned by Elsevier))
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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