The possible role of the central nervous system (CNS) in the pathogenesis of experimental atherosclerosis has received scant investigative scrutiny. Indeed, it can even be stated that the majority of investigators in the field of experimental atherosclerosis are frankly skeptical of any possible etiological relationship between dysfunction of any central neural mechanisms and peripheral atheros...

background patients with systemic lupus erythematous (sle) are more prone to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases due to atherosclerosis and consequently death. objectives the aim of this study was to explore a possible relationship between the intima media thickness (imt) of carotid arteries and the levels of c-reactive protein (crp) in sle patients. patients and methods: sixty sle pati...

The molecular mechanisms of the antiatherosclerotic effects of estrogen are not yet known. We evaluated the effects of 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) on high cholesterol diet- (HCD; standard diet and 1% cholesterol) and balloon injury-induced atherosclerosis in female New Zealand White rabbits. The abdominal aortas of 40 oophorectomized (Groups 1 through 5) and 8 nonoophorectomized (Group 6) rabbits w...

The effects of one-kidney, one clip Goldblatt hypertension on aortic atherosclerosis have been studied in the Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbit. Renovascular surgery was performed on WHHL rabbits at 3 months of age, and the rabbits were followed for periods of 3-6 months. Aortic atherosclerosis was assessed by measurement of intimal surface involvement with atherosclerotic lesions...

BACKGROUND Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has been associated with atherosclerosis by serological studies and detection of bacterial antigen within plaque. We sought to evaluate a possible causal role in an animal model. METHODS AND RESULTS Thirty New Zealand White rabbits were given three separate intranasal inoculations of either C pneumoniae (n = 20) or saline (n = 10) at 3-week intervals ...

The effects of varying degrees of atherosclerotic plaque on vascular responsiveness in aortas of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits and New Zealand White (normal cholesterolemic) rabbits were studied. Ring segments from the aortic arch and thoracic aorta were mounted in organ chambers for isometric tension recording and measurement of endotheliumderived relaxing factor. WHHL rabbi...

The molecular mechanisms of the antiatherosclerotic effects of estrogen are not yet known. We evaluated the effects of 17b-estradiol (E2) on high cholesterol diet– (HCD; standard diet and 1% cholesterol) and balloon injury–induced atherosclerosis in female New Zealand White rabbits. The abdominal aortas of 40 oophorectomized (Groups 1 through 5) and 8 nonoophorectomized (Group 6) rabbits were i...

Background: Systolic to diastolic blood flow velocity (SDFV) ratio in the brachial artery recently proved to be related to cardiovascular risk and carotid atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that the SDFV ratio was related to established markers of vascular function and global atherosclerosis. Methods: Established markers of endothelial function in forearm resistance vessels, flow-mediated vasodil...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine disrupter. Excess exposure to BPA may increase susceptibility to many metabolic disorders, but it is unclear whether BPA exposure has any adverse effects on the development of atherosclerosis. To determine whether there are such effects, we investigated the response of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits to 400-µg/kg BPA per day, admi...