Editorial [Inflammation and Atherosclerosis: Recent Insights and Future Perspectives]

Atherosclerosis represents a very high-cost disease and its complications are the first cause of death in most of the industrialized countries. Observational and epidemiological data have suggested the potential role of fibrinogen and Creactive protein in coronary artery disease (CAD) development and progression. In addition, the evaluation of markers of infection and inflammation may be of importance for an effective prevention of cerebro-vascular risk too. Based on these evidences, the National Cholesterol Education Program, through the Adult Treatment Panel III Guidelines, identified these markers as emerging cardiovascular risk factors. However, the exact role of inflammation in atherosclerosis is still on debate. Several studies have reported an association between exposure to different inflammation agents and the incidence of CAD; these data derive almost exclusively from cross-sectional or retrospective studies that cannot establish a temporal relation between exposure to inflammation and CAD. Recent studies have been also focused on the role of markers of inflammation on subclinical atherosclerosis. Further, the strong association of inflammation with cardiovascular outcomes and its influence on the pathogenesis of vascular diseases raised the possible role of anti-inflammatory therapy for reducing cardiovascular risk. Future prospective studies are needed to test whether this fascinating approach of cardiovascular prevention will affect vascular outcomes or not.