Page for the General Public

The following pages summarize and review this issue’s articles for an audience without a background in medicine or research.

Natalia D. Gavriliuk et al.: “Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in Patients with Ascending Aortic Aneurysms”

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a disease in which patients develop a potentially life threatening dilatation of their bodys’ main vessel, the aorta, in their chest right at it’s origin at the heart. There probably is a variety of causes for ascending aortic aneurysm, many of them unclear. Natalia D. Gavriliuk et al. studied the level of a molecule called “Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA)” in the blood of 86 patients with ascending aortic aneurysm and 18 healthy patients. ADMA might have impact on the function of the inner layer of the vessel wall. They concluded that ADMA was higher in patients with larger aortic diameters, in smokers, and was associated with kidney function. It is important to note that a statistical association does not mean that there is a causative relation between both facts. Since this small study was a pilot study, further investigations are necessary to understand the role of ADMA in aortic aneurysms.