BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Epidemiological studies have found no relationship
between total cholesterol and stroke risk, but little attention has been paid to high-density …

Ischaemic stroke is the most common form of stroke and is caused by athero-sclerosis in
most patients. Several genetic determinants contribute to stroke risk. Of these, carotid intimal …

Objective—Activated innate immunity is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of
metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pleiotropic …

OBJECTIVE: The contribution of lipids to stroke risk remains uncertain; little attention has
been paid to the effect of triglyceride levels, an emerging risk factor. METHODS: We …

Background and Purpose—Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a quantitative measure
of subclinical atherosclerosis that is predictive of subsequent myocardial infarction and …

The insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene
might have consequences for the risks of vascular diseases. We examined the ACE …

Background and Purpose—Many studies have investigated the association between the
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism and …

Carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, and
therefore, assessing the genetic versus environmental background of CAS traits is of key …

Background Several polymorphisms within the renin-angiotensin system cluster of genes
have been associated with the advent of coronary artery disease (CAD) or related …

Background—Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is highly heritable and associated with
stroke and myocardial infarction, making it a promising quantitative intermediate phenotype …