CRP or not CRP? That Is the Question

C-reactive protein (CRP) and cardiovascular disease isa very hot topic at present. Excitement and interesthave spilled over dramatically from the scientific literature into the media and popular press leading to much speculative comment. However, rigorously controlled and reproducible studies are now laying the basis for a more realistic consensus. The article in this issue of Arteriosclero-sis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology from Carmen van den Berg’s laboratory makes a notable contribution to this pro-cess.1 See page 1225 Shortly after its discovery in 1929 as “the acute phase protein, ” increased production of CRP was recognized as a characteristic feature of the response to acute myocardial infarction, and until the 1960’s detection of CRP was widely used for routine monitoring of acute rheumatic fever. In 1961 Irving Kushner, in one of the first applications of the then