Atherosclerosis : French discover how to protect the arteries

piotr_marcinski/Epictura

Published the 28.09.2017 at 13: 00

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athérosclérosepréventionInserm

About four sudden deaths out of five are caused by atherosclerosis. This disease is characterized by the formation of plaques on the inner lining of the arteries. When they are loose, they are going to clog an artery in the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or a cerebral vascular accident (STROKE).

The plates are formed of privileged places, such as bifurcations or the curve of the arteries, without the underlying mechanism has not been fully explained. But a study conducted by Inserm, provides an element of response. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

Researchers from the Centre for cardiovascular research, Paris and university Paris-Descartes, in fact, have shown that a cellular process, autophagy played a critical role in limiting the ability of deposits to attach itself to the walls of the arteries.

Areas preferred

The plaques, made up primarily of fat, called atheromas, which are weakening the wall, until some of the blood cells to penetrate, creating a local inflammation. The plates grow larger, and become more brittle. Some do not move, but others deteriorate or crack, and pieces come off sometimes in traffic.

If the atheromas are formed, more specifically, at the level of bifurcations and the curve of artery, this is because these areas undergo little friction : as in a body of water, where the algae settles more easily on the edges where the current is low. But in the arteries, the operation is not only mechanical.

Cut artery in healthy and sick (Source : Inserm)