Cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis in young women: atherosclerosis risk factors in female youngsters (ARFY study).

Background And Purpose: Little research has been conducted into risk factors of atherosclerosis development in young women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 205 18- to 22-year-old female students from the Educational Centre for Allied Health Professions. A broad array of risk conditions and lifestyle behaviors was carefully assessed.

T-cells from advanced atherosclerotic lesions recognize hHSP60 and have a restricted T-cell receptor repertoire.

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial, chronic-inflammatory disease for which the underlying cause remains unknown. It is also well documented that T-cells are among the first cells to migrate into the arterial intimal vessel layer, but their function there is still unexplained. Clinical and experimental data have provided evidence that atherosclerosis starts as an autoimmune reaction based on humoral and cellular immunity against a phylogenetically highly conserved stress protein, heat shock protein 60 (HSP60).

Increased serum cadmium and strontium levels in young smokers: effects on arterial endothelial cell gene transcription.

Objective: Metal constituents of tobacco have long been suspected to contribute to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we determined the serum concentrations of aluminum, cadmium (Cd), cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, strontium (Sr), and zinc of young nonsmokers, passive smokers, and smokers.

Methods And Results: Cd and Sr were found to be significantly increased in smokers compared with nonsmokers.

Metals in cigarette smoke.

Metals are vital for a huge number of physiological processes in the human body, but can also destroy health when the concentration is not within the physiologically favourable range. Cigarette smoking interferes with the carefully controlled metal homeostasis of the human body. This review focuses on the consequences of metal delivery to the human body by cigarette smoking and discusses the body's responses.

Cigarette smoke metal-catalyzed protein oxidation leads to vascular endothelial cell contraction by depolymerization of microtubules.

Smoking is a significant risk factor for development of atherosclerosis. However, the pathophysiology of smoking-mediated vessel wall damage is not understood. With tools ranging from analytical chemistry to cell biology, we show that cigarette smoke contains metals that catalyze the direct oxidation of cellular proteins by smoke oxidants.