Definition: Atherosclerosis is a 'narrowing' or hardening of the arteries, and is a pathological process that involves the progressive expansion of lesions (plaques) that reduce blood flow in arteries.
References
Hansson GK. Inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med. 2005 Apr 21;352(16):1685-95. PMID: #15843671#
Xu Q. Mouse models of arteriosclerosis: from arterial injuries to vascular grafts. Am J Pathol. 2004 Jul;165(1):1-10. PMID: #15215157#
Scott J. Pathophysiology and biochemistry of cardiovascular disease. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2004 Jun;14(3):271-9. PMID: #15172670#
Boisvert WA. Modulation of atherogenesis by chemokines. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2004 May;14(4):161-5. PMID: #15177267#
Kutuk O, Basaga H. Inflammation meets oxidation: NF-kappaB as a mediator of initial lesion development in atherosclerosis. Trends Mol Med. 2003 Dec;9(12):549-57. PMID: #14659470#
de Nigris F, Lerman A, Ignarro LJ, Williams-Ignarro S, Sica V, Baker AH, Lerman LO, Geng YJ, Napoli C. Oxidation-sensitive mechanisms, vascular apoptosis and atherosclerosis. Trends Mol Med. 2003 Aug;9(8):351-9. PMID: #12928037#
Albertini R, Moratti R, De Luca G. Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein in atherosclerosis from basic biochemistry to clinical studies. Curr Mol Med. 2002 Sep;2(6):579-92. PMID: #12243250#
Duval C, Chinetti G, Trottein F, Fruchart JC, Staels B. The role of PPARs in atherosclerosis. Trends Mol Med. 2002 Sep;8(9):422-30. PMID: #12223313#
Ursini F, Davies KJ, Maiorino M, Parasassi T, Sevanian A. Atherosclerosis: another protein misfolding disease? Trends Mol Med. 2002 Aug;8(8):370-4. PMID: #12127722#
Boerwinkle E, Ellsworth DL, Hallman DM, Biddinger A. Genetic analysis of atherosclerosis: a research paradigm for the common chronic diseases. Hum Mol Genet. 1996;5 Spec No:1405-10. PMID: #8875244#