Paradoxical preservation of vascular function in severe obesity

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.02.016 Byline: Luigi Marzio Biasucci (a), Francesca Graziani (a), Vittoria Rizzello (a), Giovanna Liuzzo (a), Caterina Guidone (b), Alberto Ranieri De Caterina (a), Salvatore Brugaletta (a), Gertrude Mingrone (b), Filippo Crea (a) Keywords: Endothelial function; Inflammation; Obesity Abstract: Obesity is associated with a high risk of coronary artery disease morbidity and mortality. Yet, postmortem studies have shown that severely obese subjects exhibit smooth coronary arteries, thus suggesting that they may be protected from atherosclerosis. We assessed vascular function and its possible determinants in a cohort of normal-weight to severely obese insulin-sensitive subjects (body mass index [BMI] 23.2-49 kg/m.sup.2). Author Affiliation: (a) Institute of Cardiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy (b) Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy Article Note: (footnote) Funding: The study was funded by grant 70200400 from Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy., Conflict of Interest: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest associated with the work presented in this manuscript., Authorship: All authors had access to the data and played a role in writing this manuscript.