FOCUS ON CORONARY SYNDROMES

A therosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases remain a ma-jor health problem in industrialized countries [1]. High plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol values show significant positive correlation to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular dis-eases [2]. Recent evidence suggests that oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of athero-sclerosis [2–4]. The purpose of this article is to review re-cent findings regarding the role of Ox-LDL in atherogenesis. LDL oxidation Lipid peroxidation can damage LDL particles in several ways. Many reactive radical species can initiate lipid peroxidation. These reactions involve lipoxygenases, super-oxide anion, hydroxyl radical, peroxinitrite, haem proteins, ceruloplasmin and myeloperoxidase [4]. In vitro studies have demonstrated that at least 15-lipoxygenase, superoxide anion