Influenza and coronary artery disease: exploring a clinical association with myocardial infarction and analyzing the utility of vaccination in prevention of myocardial infarction.

Both coronary artery disease and influenza outbreaks contribute significantly to worldwide morbidity and mortality. An increasing number of epidemiologic studies have concluded that a temporal association exists between acute viral illnesses and myocardial infarction. Viral illnesses such as influenza can cause or exacerbate coronary atherosclerosis by activating inflammatory pathways. Data from a large case-controlled trial and two randomized controlled trials suggest that influenza vaccination in patients with coronary artery disease may lead to a decrease in incidence, morbidity, and mortality from acute myocardial infarction. A meta-analysis of the two randomized controlled trials for cardiovascular death demonstrated a pooled relative risk of 0.39 (95% confidence interval, 0.20-0.77) for patients who received the influenza vaccine compared with placebo.

The Fibroblast Growth Factors and Angiogenesis: Basic Considerations.

The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of potent heparin-binding polypeptides that influence the growth, differentiation, and migration of many cell types. The FGFs are angiogenic and can induce new vessel growth. Their ability to induce new vessel growth is important in normal embryonic development, physiologic processes, pathologic processes such as malignancy, and many disease states. This article focuses on the basic aspects of FGFs in angiogenesis and discusses early clinical applications in this field.