Etiology of vascular related infection

Atherosclerosis is probably generated and its progress certainly sustained by chronic inflammation process. In this connection, several studies are actually considering infection as another possible co-factor of atherosclerosis development. Viral and bacterial pathogens have long been suspected to affect atherogenesis directly.. Helicobacter pylori, some viruses and, particularly, Chlamydia pneumoniae are infection agents most often considered in these studies. Serological, epidemiological, histological and immunological studies are in progress to test the above hypothesis. Overall, the role of C.pneumoniae in favoring the atherogenesis and/or its adverse acute events appears to be strengthened by recent evidence, which includes a clear-cut demonstration and quantification of the bacterial agent in the atherosclerotic plaque, as we conclusively show in this paper.