Atherosclerosis is characterized by thickening and inflammation of the arterial wall, giving rise to cardiovascular disease as the most common cause of death worldwide. Clinical trials indicate that lipoprotein metabolism, inflammatory reactions and the renin-angiotensin system contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and that interventions based on defined risk markers can provide benefits. Given its socioeconomic relevance and the limitations encountered by many candidate approaches, the development of treatment options for atherosclerosis remains a challenge.
This book provides balanced and detailed insight into the complex mechanisms of atherosclerosis and its risk factors and the subsequent identification of novel molecular and cellular targets, which are essential to devise and implement successful strategies for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis or its fatal consequences. The book will comprise chapters focused on inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, matrix proteases and immune cell subsets, prostanoid metabolism and cholesterol transport, lipotoxic stress and apoptosis, as well as new therapeutic concepts such as peptide-based intervention and vaccination, phospholipase inhibition and microRNAs.
About the Editors:
Christian Weber is Chair and Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Prevention at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. After graduating in medicine and completing his training in internal medicine at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany, and at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, he was appointed Professor of Molecular Cardiology at RWTH Aachen University in 2001 and board-certified in clinical cardiology in 2004. Since 2006, he has had a joint appointment as a Professor at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht. His group is interested in molecular interactions and pathophysiological functions of chemokines and their receptors, adhesion molecules and immune cell subsets in vascular disease. His clinical interests are focused on the prevention of cardiovascular disease using biomarkers and genetic or cellular diagnostics. He is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, Editor-in-Chief of Thrombosis and Haemostasis and co-founder of Carolus Therapeutics.
Oliver Soehnlein is a group leader at the Institute of Cardiovascular Prevention at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. After having received his M.D. in 2004 from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen, Germany, he continued his research at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, where he received his Ph.D. in Physiology in 2008. Thereafter, he was recruited to the RWTH Aachen University, Germany and in 2011 to the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich where he leads a junior research group focusing on the cellular interplay between myeloid cell subsets in acute and chronic inflammatory conditions.
