2003 AUG 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aging has long been recognized as the worst risk factor for chronic ailments like atherosclerosis, which clogs arteries and leads to heart attacks and stroke. Yet, the mechanism by which aging promotes the clogging of arteries has remained an enigma.
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have discovered that a major problem with aging is an unexpected failure of the bone marrow to produce progenitor cells that are needed to repair and rejuvenate arteries exposed to such environmental risks as smoking or caloric abuse.
The researchers demonstrated that an age-related loss of particular stem cells that continually repair blood vessel damage is critical to determining the onset and progression of atherosclerosis, which causes arteries to become less elastic. When atherosclerosis affects arteries supplying the heart with oxygen and nutrients, it causes coronary artery disease and puts patients at a much higher risk for a heart attack.
The researchers' novel view of atherosclerosis, based on experiments in mice, constitutes a potential new avenue in the treatment of one of the leading causes …
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