Atherosclerosis Research

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INTRODUCTION

Atherosclerosis, a disease that hardens and thickens arterial walls, consists of multiple components such as the following: fat components, cholesterol, and cellular waste products. These components produce a build up in the lining of the arteries.1 Smoking and medical conditions such as elevated triglycerides, elevated cholesterol, and high blood pressure can cause atherosclerosis.1 As a result of the collection of these components, arteries accumulate plaque, which consists of fatty deposits inside the smooth muscle of the arteries.1 Medication can improve high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, which benefits arteries, and medication can decrease low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, triglyceride (TG) levels, and total cholesterol (TC) levels, which also benefits arteries. Medications that can benefit arteries consist of the following: rosuvastatin (Crestor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), pravastatin (Pravachol), and fluvastatin (Lescol). The medications, composed of statins that reduce LDL levels, TG levels, and TC levels, also increase HDL levels. Statins, composed of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl co-enzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, convert to mevalonic acid and become the rate limiting step in the hepatic synthesis of cholesterol.2,3 To decrease LDL and TG levels from the blood, the hepatic synthesis increases the number of LDL receptors located in the liver.2Although each medication has been proven effective when increasing HDL levels and reducing LDL, TG, and TC levels in the body, studies have demonstrated that simvastatin, fluvastatin, and pravastatin do not possess high enough efficacy rates when treating these contributors.4-11 Barrios et al,4 Tavridou et al,5 van Tits et al,6 and Jaco...

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...ne kinase isoenzymes in tissues with high and fluctuating energy demands: the ‘phosphocreatine circuit’ for cellular energy homeostasis. Biochem J. 1992;281(Pt 1):21-40. pmid:1731757. Cited by Maniti O, Lecompte MF, Marcillat O, Vial C, Granjon T. Mitochondrial creatine kinase interaction with cardiolipin-containing biomimetric membranes is a two-step process involving adsorption and insertion. Eur Biophys J. 2010;39(12):1649-55. pmid:20361183

21. Wallimann T, Dolder M, Schlattner U, et al. Creatine kinase: an enzyme with a central role in cellular energy metabolism. Magma. 1998;6(2-3):116-9. pmid:9803379. Cited by Maniti O, Lecompte MF, Marcillat O, Vial C, Granjon T. Mitochondrial creatine kinase interaction with cardiolipin-containing biomimetric membranes is a two-step process involving adsorption and insertion. Eur Biophys J. 2010;39(12):1649-55. pmid:20361183

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