Investigating the Effect of Inflammation on Atrial Fibrillation Occurrence by Measuring Highly Sensitive C-reactive Protein (hs-CRP)

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmias that cardiologists and internists encounter. The goal of this article is to clarify an overview of the evidence linking inflammation to AF existence, which may highlight the effect of some pharmacological agents that have genuine potential to reduce the clinical burden of AF by modulating inflammatory pathways. Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, 50 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) with different etiologies and 50 patients with sinus rhythm and similar bases were selected. Sampling for highly sensitive c-reactive (hs-CRP) was done on the patients presenting with AF to the Ghaem hospital between October 2006 and June 2007. Results: Mean age of the patients was 62 years with maximum of 90 and minimum of 36 and standard deviation of 13.80. The most frequent age group was 71-80years. Fifty-four percent of patients were male and 46% were female. Mean serum hs-CRP levels in AF patients with hypertension (HTN) ,Ischemic heart disease(IHD), Valvular heart disease (VHD), HTN+IHD and hyperthyroidism were 8.10, 9.40, 8.68, 10.16 and 5.98 mg/Lit; respectively. There was significant difference between hs-CRP levels in hypertensive patients in the two groups (P=0.010). Similar results were observed in IHD patients, VHD patients and HTN+IHD patients in two groups (P=0.015, P=0.037, P=0.000). Conclusion: In addition to some risk factors like baseline cardiac diseases, aging, thyrotoxicosis, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and cardiac surgery, there also appears to be consistent links between hs-CRP, a marker of inflammation, and the pathogenesis of AF

The effects of panax ginseng on lipid profile, pro-oxidant: Antioxidant status and high-sensitivity c reactive protein levels in hyperlipidemic patients in Iran

Background: Because of the conflicting results from previous studies regarding the efficacy of ginseng on lipid profile and anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of its components, we aimed to evaluate the effects of Panax ginseng on lipid profile, pro-oxidant - anti-oxidant status and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. Methods: Forty Iranian hyperlipidemic patients were randomly assigned to placebo (n = 20) or control (n = 20) groups in this double-blind randomized controlled trial. The ginseng or placebo was taken two capsules twice a day for 8 weeks. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine and hs-CRP levels and pro-oxidant - anti-oxidant balance (PAB) were estimated before and after intervention. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to changes in serum TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TC/HDL-C levels. Nor were there significant differences between the two groups with respect to changes in hs-CRP level and PAB from baseline to week 8. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that ginseng does not have significant effects on lipid profile, Hs-CRP level and PAB. Further clinical studies, with a larger sample size, more prolonged period of therapy are needed to investigate the therapeutic effects of ginseng