[The infection theory in atherosclerosis]. / Théorie infectieuse de l'athérosclérose.

ABSTRACT

Atherosclerosis displays all the features of a chronic inflammatory process. Aggressions that ignite and fuel atherosclerotic inflammation warrant keen attention. Infection is a potential clue, implying microbes with certain discrete characteristics a wide epidemiologic distribution, a tropism for the arterial wall, and an aptitude for persistence, latency and recurrence. The infectious theory has built up from the pioneering observations of Fabricant et al. (1978) on the arterial lesions provoked by Marek's disease herpesvirus in chicken. So far one virus (cytomegalovirus) and two bacteria (Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori) have been implicated in human atherosclerosis, based upon experimental, sero-epidemiologic, or pathologic evidence. None of these potential contributions has yet been established beyond reasonable doubt. However, grounded on the suspicion about C. pneumoniae, provocative therapeutic evidence has added recently according to two pilot studies, treatment with macrolide antibiotics appear to improve the prognosis of coronary artery disease in both its chronic and acute forms. If ongoing larger-scale studies confirm these preliminary results, a novel era will open in our capacity for explaining, treating and preventing atherosclerosis. An infectious aetiology of atherosclerosis is now to be considered earnestly, and is already being submitted to more intensive clinical and experimental investigation.