SearchPublisher and Institutes
You are here: Home :: Area NEM :: Medical science :: Human medicine
Alexander Niessner, Senta Graf, Mariam Nikfardjam, Stephan Lehr, Gerald Maurer, Johann Wojta, Kurt Huber
The adaptive immune system and long-term outcome in patients with stable coronary disease. Predictive value of routine laboratory measurements
Components of the adaptive immune system, in particular lymphocytes and immunoglobulin, play a major role in advanced atherosclerotic lesions. We sought to determine whether routine, measurements of the relative number of circulating lymphocytes (%L) and -globulin (%G) reflecting immunoglobulin are related to event-free survival in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). We prospectively studied the combined endpoint all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction and coronary revascularization procedures in 141 patients after successful percutaneous coronary intervention during a median follow-up time of 13.2 years. Using Cox regression, we found a significant influence of %L on event-free survival (P = 0.007) with a relative risk of 2.21 comparing third to first tertile. Subjects with higher %G values likewise had a shorter event-free survival (P = 0.008) with a relative risk of 1.67 comparing third to first tertile. The predictive value of %L and %G remained significant after adjustment for demographic data, cardiovascular risk factors, extent of CAD and other inflammatory markers. We conclude that the fraction of -globulin and in particular the relative lymphocyte cell count may serve as readily available and reliable prognostic tools for the long-term outcome in patients with stable CAD.
Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Schattauer
Print ISSN: 0340-6245
Volume: 93
Pages: 257 - 260