Background and Purpose—Glutathione (GSH) appears to have marked antioxidant activities and therefore may prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, there are very few reports on this subject. In a community-based case–control study, we tested the hypothesis that low levels of plasma GSH are closely associated with CVD and its clinical types. Methods—The association between fasting plasma to...

CONTEXT C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammation protein that may play a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). OBJECTIVE To assess whether polymorphisms in the CRP gene are associated with plasma CRP, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and CVD events. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Health Study, 4 tag single-n...

CONTEXT There is a need for increased knowledge about endogenous sex hormone levels and clinical outcomes of risk/benefit. Immunoassays have poor specificity to reliably measure low steroid concentrations in elderly. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to evaluate plasma steroid concentrations with regard to prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly, using mass spectrometry. SE...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine associations among plasma homocysteine concentrations (tHcy), the tHcy-cofactors (folate, vitamins B6 and B12), and multiple domains of cognitive performance, with statistical adjustment for possible confounds, including cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD-RF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS Subjects were 812 participants (58% women) of th...

OBJECTIVES To prospectively examine the association of plasma γ' fibrinogen with the incidence of multiple cardiovascular disease (CVD) end points, independent of established CVD risk factors, total fibrinogen, and other inflammatory markers. APPROACH AND RESULTS The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study measured γ' fibrinogen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in stored plasma s...

OBJECTIVE Annexin A5 (ANXA5) has been suggested to possess antiatherogenic properties. We investigated whether ANXA5 genetic variations and plasma ANXA5 levels were associated with carotid atherosclerosis and contributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). METHODS We sequenced the promoter region and exon 2 of ANXA5 in 284 FH patients from...

BACKGROUND Several studies have shown associations between hyperglycemia and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, yet glucose-lowering treatment does little to mitigate this risk. We examined whether associations between hyperglycemia and CVD risk were explained by underlying insulin resistance. METHODS In 60 middle-aged individuals without diabetes we studied the associations ...

The role of very low temperature (90-170oC) high density inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDICP CVD) process in RF MEMS switch fabrication is addressed. The results on SiNx layers produced by both HDICP CVD and plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD) are compared in terms of surface roughness, breakdown voltage and RF MEMS switch performance. It is found that HDICP CVD can provide very...

OBJECTIVE The plasma leptin/adiponectin (L/A) ratio has been proposed as a preferential marker of atherosclerosis susceptibility compared to leptin and adiponectin alone. We determined the extent to which the L/A ratio predicts incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) taking account of clinical risk factors, microalbuminuria, the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (TC/HDL-C ratio), triglycerides, h...

The purpose of this study is to explore possible potential implications of cold air in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in rats. Healthy Wistar rats were exposed to artificial cold air under laboratory conditions, and their systolic blood pressure, heart rate, vasoconstriction, CVD risk factors, and myocardial damage indicators after cold air exposure were determined and evaluated. Systolic bl...