The causes of atherosclerosis are still an important topic of research. Could cytomegalovirus (CMV) be a cause of intravascular occlusions? Researchers have found clues about this issue.

Atherosclerosis It is the most common  heart disease worldwide . It is important to know and eliminate risk factors to prevent atherosclerosis. Hypertension, diabetes, smoking, high LDL cholesterol, high plasma homocysteine ​​level And inflammation (high CRP) are well-known risk factors. Apart from these known risk factors, virus infectionnun (Cytomegalovirus) There are studies showing that it may also be a risk factor for atherosclerosis.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) , a virus  , can cause mild infections in childhood. Although it can go unnoticed in childhood, CMV infection Once the virus enters the body, it remains latent in the body and can cause re-infection when the immune system of the person is weakened. Studies have shown that this virus can be transmitted to the blood vessels in our body. endothelial cellsand found in blood Monocyte It has been shown that it can infect cells called . These cells are also the cells that undergo changes in atherosclerosis. Moreover, we know that they are involved in the atherosclerotic process cytokine, chemokine And adhesion molecules The mediator molecules we call are also secreted by this virus. Based on these findings, it has been thought that there may be a relationship between CMV seropositivity (presence of CMV in the body) and atherosclerosis. Epidemiological, molecular studies and animal experiments have been conducted recently to show whether this relationship exists. As a result of the studies, especially in young female atherosclerosis patients CMV seropositivity with high serum total cholesterol levels A relationship was found regarding the age of 50. Such a connection was not found to be valid for male patients or patients with atherosclerosis over the age of 50.

Onset of atherosclerosis “oily streaking” What we call lesions that occur as a result of fatty deposits in the vascular wall. This process starts in childhood and progresses slowly. High serum cholesterol levels play an important role in the formation of fatty streaks. The results of the studies have shown that CMV virus infection causes high serum cholesterol levels by changing fat metabolism in young female patients under the age of 50. Cardiovascular disease in patients with CMV has been found to be more severe than in patients who have not had CMV infection. In another study, as a result of molecular level analysis called PCR, nucleic acids, which are the structural units of CMV genes, were detected in atherosclerotic plaques.

Further studies including a larger number of patients are needed to strengthen the results of this study and to determine whether the relationship found is also valid for other patients (male or patients over 50 years of age).

Resources :

1) J Am Coll Cardiol 1999 Nov 15:34 (1738-43)  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10577564

2) J Infection Disease 2103 March 14  http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/0…