Persistent bacterial infection and vascular disease

LONDON, August 25 (SPIS MedWire). A new study reported in Circulation offers strong evidence that persistent bacterial infection is associated with atherosclerosis, and that heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) antibodies may mediate the relationship. Mayr and colleagues at the University of Innsbruck Medical School, Austria, analyzed data from the Bruneck Study — a large population-based study that randomly sampled all inhabitants of Bruneck aged between 40 and 79. A total of 826 subjects were included in the analysis, which involved clinical examination with cardiological and neurological priority. Anti-C pneumoniae IgA antibodies were associated with the prevalence of atherosclerosis in carotid and femoral arteries (p=0.011 and p=0.035, respectively) and this relationship remained significant after adjustment for multiple risk factors. Anti-H pylori IgG antibodies correlated significantly with carotid atherosclerosis, but only in patients of low social status, and there was no correlation with atherosclerosis in...