Co-existence of fatty acids changes in aorta artery and adipose tissue; comparison between CAD and non CAD patients.

BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to evaluate composition and possible co-existence of change in fatty acids of aorta artery and adipose tissue in two groups of patients with different degree of atherosclerosis. METHODS: Twenty-one angiographically documented coronary artery diseases (CAD) patients, and the same numbers of age, sex and body mass index-matched angiographically documented non CAD patients enrolled in this study. They were operated electively for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or aortic valve replacement surgery (AVR), respectively. Small segments of ascending aorta artery and adipose tissue were dissected form the two groups during open heart surgery and subjected to fatty acid analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that in the CAD group, amounts of saturated and omega6 unsaturated fatty acids were higher, while the percent of monounsaturated and omega3 unsaturated fatty acids were lower than the non CAD patients for both aorta artery and adipose tissue samples. A moderate correlation was seen between amounts of fatty acids in adipose tissue and aorta artery. CONCLUSION: As there are many reports which show that adipose tissue can only be used as a suitable indicator of dietary intake of exogenous fatty acids (e.g. polyunsaturated and trans fatty acids), our study suggests that modification of fatty acids with endogenous synthesis and metabolism (e.g. saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids) which were observed in both adipose tissue and aorta artery of CAD patients, may be produced during atherogenesis.

Comparison of fatty acid profiles of aorta and internal mammary arteries in patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis represents the principal cause of death in the many societies. Since few data have been published about the composition of fatty acids in atherosclerotic arteries such as the aorta comparing to the non affected internal mammary artery which is used for aortocoronary bypass grafting, we compared the fatty acid profiles of atherosclerotic aorta and internal mammary arteries in human individuals. METHODS: Twenty-one angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who were admitted to the open heart surgery division enrolled in this study. They were operated electively for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). Small segments of ascending aorta and internal mammary arteries were sampled during open heart surgery. The samples were subjected to lipid extraction and fatty acid analysis by high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: The results showed that different fatty acid profiles were seen in the aorta and internal mammary arteries. The atherosclerotic aorta contained lower amounts of unsaturated fatty acids (including trans isomer of oleic acid) and higher proportions of saturated fats comparing to the internal mammary. In the aorta also, the amounts of omega6 series of fatty acids were more and levels of omega3 fats were less than the internal mammary. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that modification of fatty acids may play a role during atherogenesis.