C-reactive protein (CRP) and atherosclerosis

Abstract

The aim of this review is to present some of the opinions and most important papers that have contributed to establish a criterion about the use of CRP as a marker in clinical researches of vascular diseases. CRP is considered as a marker of inflammatory, traumatic and neoplastic processes and it has been associated with vascular risk due to the importance of the inflammatory phenomena associated with the vascular injury in the pathogeny of atherothrombotic diseases started by the vascular injury. As
far as this concerns, there are opposite opinions in literature. The analysis of the different laboratory methods for CRP determination, diverse criteria about normal and pathological values, and the conditions of the patients before blood sampling could be sources of controversies found in literature. Nevertheless, there are enough studies that demonstrate the CRP participation in vascular events and not only as a marker but also in the development of vascular lesion itself and in the occurrence and evolution of atherosclerotic
crisis. Moreover, most of the prospective studies reviewed as well as the association with CRP with other stabilized risk factors and the results of anti-inflammatory therapy support those results. It was concluded that it is appropriate to include the assessment of CRP together with other stabilized risk factors, taking into account the standards for patient preparation and analytical methods.