Inflammation and Coronary Artery Disease

Recent research suggests that focal inflammation in the coronary arteries may be involved in the genesis of unstable coronary syndromes. In this issue of the Journal, Liuzzo et al.1 report that the acute-phase reactants, C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A protein, were elevated in most of their patients with a diagnosis of unstable angina (based on the initial absence of elevated cardiac-enzyme levels), including those who subsequently proved to have had a myocardial infarction. The patients with elevated levels of acute-phase reactants, which reflect the stimulation of hepatic production by circulating inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, had a less favorable . . .