Analytical Performance and Clinical Utility of Lab Tests for Study of Artherotho

在合作研究中，我们继续研究致动脉粥样硬化血浆成分和标志物的分析和诊断性能以及临床应用。由于在新鲜采集的标本中并不总是可以分析血清脂质和脂蛋白成分，因此我们进一步研究了各种储存条件和反复冻解冻对总胆固醇、甘油空白甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇、载脂蛋白(a)和脂蛋白(a)-胆固醇的分析回收率的影响。通过多种分析方法，我们发现大多数这些成分在-70℃冷冻保存和仅冻融一次时在血清中是稳定的。我们还研究了长期口服l -精氨酸对健康绝经后妇女和冠状动脉疾病（CAD）患者内皮依赖性血管舒张和炎症标志物（包括c反应蛋白[CRP]）的影响。此外，我们研究了口服l -精氨酸补充剂对健康绝经后妇女和已确诊CAD的男性血浆氨基酸组成的影响。在合作研究中，我们研究了选择性雌激素受体调节剂雷洛昔芬对高胆固醇血症男性的激素、脂蛋白和血管的影响，以及雌激素和雷洛昔芬对绝经后女性炎症标志物的影响。在其他研究中，我们继续研究各种病毒（如甲型肝炎、巨细胞病毒）和细菌感染（如幽门螺杆菌）在动脉粥样硬化疾病发生和进展中的临床意义，各种白细胞介素（IL-6、IL-10）对血浆脂质、脂蛋白和载脂蛋白的影响，以及频繁献血对动脉粥样硬化的可能益处。

In collaborative studies, we continued studying atherogenic plasma constituents and markers with respect to their analytic and diagnostic performance and clinical utility. Since analysis of serum lipid and lipoprotein constituents is not always possible in freshly collected specimens, we further investigated the effect of various storage conditions and repeated freezing-thawing on the analytic recoveries of total cholesterol, glycerol-blanked triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein(a), and lipoprotein(a)-cholesterol. Using a variety of analytic methods, we found that most of these constituents are stable in serum when stored frozen at -70oC and freeze-thawed only once.We also studied the effect of prolonged oral L-arginine administration on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and markers of inflammation (including C-reactive protein [CRP]) in healthy postmenopausal women and in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) on medical management. In addition, we studied the effect of oral L-arginine supplementation on the plasma amino acid composition in healthy postmenopausal women and in men with established CAD. In collaborative studies, we investigated the hormonal, lipoprotein, and vascular effects of the selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene in hypercholesterolemic men and the effects of estrogen and raloxifene on markers of inflammation in postmenopausal women. In other studies, we continued studying the clinical significance of various viral (e.g., hepatitis A, cytomegalovirus) and bacterial infections (e.g., Helicobacter pylori) with respect to the development and progression of atherosclerotic disease, the effect of various interleukins (IL-6, IL-10) on plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins, and the possible benefit of frequent blood donations on atherosclerosis.