ApoA-1 Milano and Regression of Atherosclerosis
- Cesare R. Sirtori, MD, PhD
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cesare.sirtori@unimi.it
Department of Clinical Pharmacology
University of Milano
Milan, Italy
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
To the Editor: Although Dr Nissen and colleagues1 found a 4.2% mean reduction in atheroma, this number is actually substantially less than what has been observed in animal studies. For instance, my colleagues and I reported that a 90-minute infusion of 1 g of recombinant protein in rabbits resulted in a 30% mean reduction of plaque volume.2
I believe, however, that results of these 2 studies are comparable. Although rabbits' atheromatous lesions develop over a few months and comprise nearly 90% free cholesterol-enriched foam cells, this is not the case for human lesions. Such "removable material" (eg, foam cells and cholesterol-enriched debris) represents only 13% to 26% of the material in human plaques, depending on the age or sex of the examined individuals.3-4 Therefore, the 4.2% reduction in human plaque volume approximates the 30% reduction we observed in rabbits. A similar approach in younger individuals …
