Small dense LDL and VLDL predict common carotid artery IMT and elicit an inflammatory response in peripheral blood mononuclear and endothelial cells.

Objective: The presence of small dense LDL has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk and with the progression of coronary and carotid atherosclerosis in case-control and prospective studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between different lipoprotein subfractions with intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery in a free-living, healthy population, and to evaluate whether in patients with comparable LDL-C, the different lipoprotein subclasses differently affected the expression of chemokines, cytokines and adhesion molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear and endothelial cells.

Methods And Results: The lipoprotein cholesterol profile and the LDL buoyancy (LDL-RF) were evaluated in a cohort of 156 healthy subjects randomly selected from the PLIC (Progressione Lesione Intimale Carotidea) study.

Common hepatic lipase gene promoter variant predicts the degree of neointima formation after carotid endarterectomy: impact of plaque composition and lipoprotein phenotype.

Background: The common -514 C-T promoter polymorphism of the hepatic lipase gene (LIPC) and the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene TaqIB polymorphism affect atherogenesis. We investigated the potential relationship between these polymorphisms and the maximum-intima-media thickness (M-IMT) after carotid endarterectomy.

Methods: The LIPC and CETP genotypes were determined by PCR in 68 patients undergoing endarterectomy.

Relevance of hepatic lipase to the metabolism of triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins.

HL (hepatic lipase) is a glycoprotein that is synthesized and secreted by the liver, and which binds to heparan sulphate proteoglycans on the surface of sinusoidal endothelial cells and on the external surface of parenchymal cells in the space of Disse. HL catalyses the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols and phospholipids in different lipoproteins, contributing to the remodelling of VLDL (very-low-density lipoprotein) remnants, as well as IDL, LDL and HDL (intermediate-, low- and high-density lipoprotein respectively). HL deficiency in humans is associated with diminished conversion of VLDL remnants into IDL and a near-complete absence of IDL-to-LDL conversion.

Association between the --514 C-->T polymorphism of the hepatic lipase gene promoter and unstable carotid plaque in patients with severe carotid artery stenosis.

Objective: We investigated the potential association between -514 C-->T polymorphism in the promoter of the hepatic lipase gene (LIPC) and the prevalence of inflammatory cells in the plaque of patients with severe carotid artery stenosis.

Background: This common LIPC polymorphism has been related to the presence of an atherogenic lipoprotein pattern.

Methods: We studied 68 consecutive patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy.

[Subjects of the risk assessment].

The Dlgs 626/94 describes a safety management system based on organizational and procedural actions, and leaves technical actions to a discretionary/secondary moment. This article debates how safety in the workplace takes place through planning and engineering of prevention measures. The most important mechanism is the "Risk Evaluation Proceeding", a process which encompasses three main steps: risks identification prevention measures identification planning of health/medical examinations and information/formation activities Due to the complexity of the risk evaluation, law obliges the employer to perform the process together with the Safety Manager, the Health Manager (Competent Persons), and after discussing with the Safety Representative.