Genotype Variations and Association between PAI-1 Promoter Region (4G/5G and -844G/A) and Susceptibility to Acute Myocardial Infarction and Chronic Stable Angina

Circadian rhythms of risk factors and management in atherosclerotic and hypertensive vascular disease: Modern chronobiological perspectives of an ancient disease

Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the arteries that appears to have been as prevalent in ancient as in modern civilizations, is predisposing to life-threatening and life-ending cardiac and vascular complications, such as myocardial and cerebral infarctions. The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis involves intima plaque buildup caused by vascular endothelial dysfunction, cholesterol deposition, smooth muscle proliferation, inflammatory cell infiltration and connective tissue accumulation. Hypertension is an independent and controllable risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Conversely, atherosclerosis hardens the arterial wall and raises arterial blood pressure. Many CVD patients experience both atherosclerosis and hypertension and are prescribed medications to concurrently mitigate the two disease conditions. A substantial number of publications document that many pathophysiological changes caused by atherosclerosis and hypertension occur in a manner dependent upon circadian clocks or clock gene products. This article reviews progress in the research of circadian regulation of vascular cell function, inflammation, hemostasis and atherothrombosis. In particular, it delineates the relationship of circadian organization with signal transduction and activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system as well as disturbance of the sleep/wake circadian rhythm, as exemplified by shift work, metabolic syndromes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), as promoters and mechanisms of atherogenesis and risk for non-fatal and fatal CVD outcomes. This article additionally updates advances in the clinical management of key biological processes of atherosclerosis to optimally achieve suppression of atherogenesis through chronotherapeutic control of atherogenic/hypertensive pathological sequelae.

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 4G/5G Polymorphism Presenting as Recurrent Ischemic Stroke: The Microthrombi Shower

Certain clinical scenarios should alert a physician to take a deeper look into causative pathological processes. This was evident in the case of a 41-year-old man who presented for recurrent micro thromboembolic strokes, which is atypical for the patient’s age. Our desire to explain the pathological process led to the rare finding of a plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 polymorphism, which has been associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular thrombosis. A defect in this pathway leads to the inhibition of the tissue plasminogen activator protein. This genetic polymorphism has relatively been unexplored in recent medical literature, and we are hoping that our case may inspire future research that could help potential targets of risk factor stratifications as well as the development of novel pharmacological options.