Anti-ApoA-I IgG antibodies are not associated with carotid artery disease progression and first-time cardiovascular events in middle-aged individuals.

OBJECTIVE: IgG antibodies against apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) have been found to be elevated in subjects from the general population with clinically manifest cardiovascular disease and in myocardial infarction patients with an adverse prognosis. Here, we investigated whether these antibodies are prospectively associated with carotid artery disease progression and with the risk for first-time cardiovascular events in individuals with no previous history of cardiovascular disease. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We selected 383 subjects from the cardiovascular cohort of Malmö Diet and Cancer study who suffered a coronary event during a median follow-up period of 15.4 (10.3-16.4) years and 395 age- and sex-matched controls. None of the study participants had a previous history of coronary artery disease or stroke. Anti-ApoA-I IgG were measured by ELISA in serum samples collected at baseline. Intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured in the common carotid artery and in the carotid bifurcation at baseline and after 15.9 (±1.5) years. We found no associations between anti-ApoA-I IgG and carotid artery IMT at baseline or with IMT progression during follow-up. In Cox proportional hazards analyses adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, the hazard ratio (HR 95%CI) for the primary outcome, incident coronary events, was 0.97 (0.75-1.25), P = 0.782, in subjects with anti-ApoA-I IgG within the highest tertile compared with the lowest tertile. Similarly, we did not find any associations with the secondary outcome, incident first-time stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Serum autoantibodies against ApoA-I do not correlate with disease progression and adverse events in cardiovascular disease-free individuals from the general population.

High-frequency electromagnetic radiation injury to the upper extremity: local and systemic effects.

Industrial use of radiofrequency and microwave energy sources (nonionizing, high-frequency electromagnetic radiation) is a growing and widespread phenomenon, with projected risks of exposure to more than 20 million workers in the United States. A description of the nature of this form of electromagnetic energy is given, with emphasis on the variability of energy absorption by humans. The current state of biological research is reviewed, and a summary of the known effects of radiofrequency and microwave radiation exposure on animals and humans provided. These known effects appear to be principally thermal, similar to conventional electrical burn injuries, but with some unique systemic expression. Derangements of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, hematological, ophthalmological, and behavioral functions are well described in animal experimentation. Two patients are presented--one a young woman exposed to a high-density radiofrequency field in an industrial setting, leading to necrosis of the entire hand and wrist as well as to a constellation of systemic effects, and one an older woman exposed to excessive microwave radiation from a malfunctioning microwave oven, leading to chronic hand pain and paresthesias resembling median nerve entrapment at the carpus. The prevalence of potential exposure in certain industries is noted and recommendations for follow-up care of workers exposed to this form of trauma are delineated.