Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

The Cardiovascular Epidemiology And Genome-Wide Associations Of Biomarkers Of Innate And Adaptive Immunity: Scd163 And Sil2ra, Jon Peter Durda

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and worldwide. Atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in the arteries, is a common cause of CVD. For many years, research in atherosclerosis was focused on lipid metabolism and the accumulation of low-density lipoprotein in the arteries. While this research set public health guidelines for lipid management, lipid concentration was not the only factor influencing atherosclerosis and CVD events. Many scientists, as far back as the 1850’s recognized the role of inflammation in the progression of atherosclerotic disease. The continuous low levels of immune activation in the …