Carotid Disease and Ageing: A Literature Review on the Pathogenesis of Vascular Senescence in Older Subjects.

Aging is a natural process that affects all systems of the human organism, leading to its inability to adapt to environmental changes. Advancing age has been correlated with various pathological conditions, especially cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Carotid artery (CA) is mainly affected by age-induced functional and morphological alterations causing atheromatous disease.

Reciprocal regulation of eNOS, HS and CO-synthesizing enzymes in human atheroma: Correlation with plaque stability and effects of simvastatin.

The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying plaque destabilization remain obscure. We sought to elucidate the correlation between NO, HS and CO-generating enzymes, nitro-oxidative stress and plaque stability in carotid arteries. Carotid atherosclerotic plaques were collected from 62 patients who had undergone endarterectomy due to internal artery stenosis.