Novel mechanisms of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Hong Lu, Debra L. Rateri, Dennis Bruemmer, Lisa A. Cassis, Alan Daugherty

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are a common but asymptomatic disease that has high susceptibility to rupture. Current therapeutic options are limited to surgical procedures because no pharmacological approaches have been proven to decrease either expansion or rupture of human AAAs. The current dearth of effective medical treatment is attributed to insufficient understanding of the mechanisms underlying the initiation, propagation and rupture of AAAs. This review will emphasize recent advances in mechanistic studies that may provide insights into potential pharmacological treatments for this disease. While we primarily focus on recent salient findings, we also discuss mechanisms that continue to be controversial depending on models under study. Despite the progress on exploring mechanisms of experimental AAAs, ultimate validation of mechanisms will require completion of prospective doubleblinded clinical trials. In addition, we advocate increased emphasis of collaborative studies using animal models and human tissues for determination of mechanisms that explore expansion and rupture of existing AAAs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)402-412
Number of pages11
JournalCurrent Atherosclerosis Reports
Volume14
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Research work in the authors’ laboratories is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (HL80100, HL062846, HL107326, HL107319, and HL73085).

Keywords

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysms
  • Cytokines
  • Macrophages
  • Phospholipids
  • Proteases

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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