Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Atheroma Specimens

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 174; no. 4; pp. 893 - 894
• Main Authors: Jackson, Lisa A., Campbell, Lee Ann, Kuo, Cho-chou, Grayston, J. Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The University of Chicago Press 01-10-1996; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Atherectomy; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerotic plaque; Chlamydia pneumoniae; Chlamydophila pneumoniae; Chlamydophila pneumoniae - isolation & purification; Congenital heart defects; Coronary artery disease; Coronary Artery Disease - microbiology; Coronary vessels; Correspondence; Humans; Polymerase chain reaction; Seroepidemiologic studies; Specimens
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/174.4.893

Weiss et al. [1] recently reported detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in only 1 of 58 coronary atherectomy specimens tested by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). They also found a lower seroprevalence of anti-C. pneumoniae antibodies among the atherectomy patients than in a group of control patients. These results differ from those of numerous studies that indicated an association between C. pneumoniae and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [2-10]. This discrepancy may be due to a variety of factors that are deserving of additional comment. Given the overall consistency of the results of studies from many different areas, it seems more likely that methodologic differences account for the results reported by Weiss et al. [1] rather than true differences between the populations studied. As they suggest, further studies are needed before it can be concluded that the presence of C. pneumoniae in atheroma or a serologic association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease varies by geographic location.