Vascular inflammation in MS
January 24, 2012 at 11:42am
The Buffalo team has recently published a study on Lp-PLA2 levels in the blood of people with MS.
Lp-PLA2 is an enzyme that circulates in the blood and attaches to cholesterol in the blood stream. It is an important marker of inflammation, just like C reactive protein.
Here's more information on Lp-PLA2
Lp-PLA2 is also an important marker in endothelial dysfunction. This means that the lining of the blood vessels is breaking down and inflamed.
What the Buffalo researchers found is that this enzyme shows up in the blood of pwMS---and levels are significantly higher than in controls.
Lp-PLA2: Inflammatory Biomarker of Vascular Risk in Multiple Sclerosis.
A member of the A2 phospholipase superfamily, the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), is involved in atherogenic processes. Lp-PLA2 mass and activity were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by a colorimetric method, respectively, and compared among 63 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 47 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Lp-PLA2 plasma levels were significantly higher in MS patients (236.7 ± 10 ng/ml) compared to HCs (197.0 ± 7 ng/ml) (p = 0.003)
Here is a study of plasma levels of Lp-PLA2 in those with coronary disease and normals. Lp-PLA2 is a marker of endothelial dysfunction. ( Note that pwMS had a 236.7 ng/ml level, and those with coronary arterial disease had a 246.2 ng/ml level. Normals have around a 200 ng/ml level.)
