Study Points to Heart Disease Marker's Dark Side
(HealthDayNews, 6/23/05)

Dr. Ishwarlal Jialal and Sridevi Devaraj of the University of California, Davis, conducted lab studies that raise the possibility that C reactive protein (CRP) may be a direct contributor to heart disease, not just a marker for the condition. It was already known that inflammation, which causes blood levels of CRP to rise, promotes cardiovascular disease. Now the researchers report that CRP, not only results from, but triggers inflammation and, therefore, possibly causes cardiovascular problems. These scientists had previously found that the endothelial cells lining the artery walls can produce CRP, which was formerly thought to come only from the liver. Now they say that CRP binds with receptors on white blood cells and cells in the artery wall. Since these findings come only from lab studies, further research is needed to determine whether and how the process works in living human beings.

(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, July 2005)