Background and aim

Oxidative stress and inflammation are conditions that are deeply involved in atherosclerosis and consequent coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship among circulating antioxidant vitamins (C, A, E), copper, and other pro- or antioxidant/inflammation markers in patients with and without CAD under preventive medication.

Subjects and methods

174 Azorean subjects symptomatic for CAD (age 56 ± 9y; 68 % men) submitted to coronary angiography were split into 2 groups: one formed by CAD patients (≥50 % stenosis in at least one major coronary vessel) and the other by non-CAD patients (<50 % stenosis). Both groups were age-, sex- and BMI-matched. Plasma levels of vitamins or copper were measured by HPLC and AAS, respectively.

Results and conclusions

Lower vitamin C levels were observed in CAD patients (mainly in women, who exhibited a high rate of diabetes mellitus) as compared to the non-CAD ones. Also, CAD patients (mainly men) exhibited significantly higher concentrations of plasma copper than their non-CAD counterparts (1.17 ± 0.3 mg/L vs. 1.09 ± 0.3 mg/L, p = 0.030). In bivariate analysis, plasma copper levels were positively associated with serum LDL-cholesterol (r=0.22; p = 0.004) and chiefly with C-reactive protein (r=0.40; p < 0.001). Furthermore, they were significantly lower in recurrent vs. non recurrent CAD patients (1.07±0.2 vs. 1.24±0.3 mg/L, p = 0.004). ROC analysis showed that plasma copper, whenever >1.06 mg/L, was an independent risk factor for CAD in primary prevention for men, which suggests that its levels can fluctuate with medical therapy (such as anti-inflammatory), thus indicating that copper is not a reliable marker for CAD. Moreover, plasma copper concentration was not associated with CAD severity. Yet, results do suggest that, even within its reference concentration range, it could be useful as an acute inflammation marker in CAD management.

中文翻译：

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预防药物治疗下亚速尔群岛冠状动脉疾病患者的循环抗氧化维生素和铜——案例研究

背景与目标

氧化应激和炎症是与动脉粥样硬化和随之而来的冠状动脉疾病 (CAD) 密切相关的疾病。因此，本研究的目的是评估在预防性药物治疗下患有和不患有 CAD 的患者体内循环抗氧化维生素（C、A、E）、铜和其他促或抗氧化/炎症标志物之间的关系。

主题和方法

174 名有 CAD 症状的亚速尔群岛受试者（年龄 56 ± 9 岁；68 % 男性）被分为两组：一组由 CAD 患者组成（至少一个主要冠状血管的狭窄≥50%），另一组由非CAD 患者（<50% 狭窄）。两组的年龄、性别和 BMI 匹配。分别通过 HPLC 和 AAS 测量维生素或铜的血浆水平。

结果和结论

与非 CAD 患者相比，在 CAD 患者（主要是女性，糖尿病发病率较高）中观察到较低的维生素 C 水平。此外，CAD 患者（主要是男性）的血浆铜浓度显着高于非 CAD 患者（1.17 ± 0.3 mg/L 与 1.09 ± 0.3 mg/L，p  = 0.030）。在双变量分析中，血浆铜水平与血清​​低密度脂蛋白胆固醇呈正相关（r=0.22；p  =0.004），主要与 C 反应蛋白（r=0.40；p  < 0.001）呈正相关。此外，它们在复发性 CAD 患者与非复发性 CAD 患者中显着较低（1.07±0.2 与 1.24±0.3 mg/L，p = 0.004）。ROC 分析表明，血浆铜，每当 >1.06 mg/L，是男性一级预防 CAD 的独立危险因素，这表明其水平会随着药物治疗（如抗炎）而波动，从而表明铜是不是 CAD 的可靠标记。此外，血浆铜浓度与 CAD 严重程度无关。然而，结果确实表明，即使在其参考浓度范围内，它也可用作 CAD 管理中的急性炎症标志物。