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High lipoprotein (a) linked to presence of abdominal aortic aneurysm
2 July 2009
MedWire News: Results from a meta-analysis suggest that individuals with abdominal aortic aneurysm have higher levels of lipoprotein (Lp)(a) than controls.
“Increased circulating Lp(a) concentrations are predictive for several forms of vascular disease, including coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, and ischemic stroke,” explain Hisato Takagi (Shizuoka Medical Center, Sunto-gun, Japan) and colleagues.
In this study, the team carried out a meta-analysis of five case-control studies comparing levels of Lp(a) in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (n=982) to controls (n=1296).
The inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis were a case-control study design, a study population comparing participants with abdominal aortic aneurysm to those without, and with main outcomes including means and standard deviation measurements of Lp(a) in controls and abdominal aortic aneurysm patients.
Writing in the journal Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, the authors report that pooled results from the five studies showed that patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm had significantly higher levels of Lp(a) then controls with a standardized mean difference of 0.26.
However, they caution that there was considerable heterogeneity of results between studies as well as use of slightly different definitions of abdominal aortic aneurysm, although no evidence of significant publication bias was observed.
“Elevated levels of Lp(a) cause endothelial and intimal damage and thus may increase the susceptibility for intimal injury and initiation of aneurysm formation,” suggest Takagi et al.
They conclude: “Further investigation is needed to elucidate the mechanism of how Lp(a) affects initiation of aneurysm formation, promotion of aneurysm development, or trigger of aneurysm rupture.”
