Use of TM for 16 weeks in CHD patients improved blood pressure and insulin resistance components of the metabolic syndrome as well as cardiac autonomic nervous system tone compared with a control group receiving health education. These results suggest that TM may modulate the physiological response to stress and improve CHD risk factors, which may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of CHD.

Objective-Recent epidemiologic and animal model data suggest that oxygenated carotenoids are protective against early atherosclerosis. We assessed the association between atherosclerotic progression, measured by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and plasma levels of oxygenated and hydrocarbon carotenoids, tocopherols, retinol, and ascorbic acid. Methods and Results-Participants were from an occupational cohort of 573 middle-aged women and men who were free of symptomatic cardiovascular disease at baseline. Ultrasound examination of the common carotid arteries, lipid level determination, and risk factor assessment were performed at baseline and 18-month follow-up. Plasma levels of antioxidants were determined at baseline only. Change in IMT was related to baseline plasma antioxidant levels in regression models controlling for covariates. In models adjusted for age, sex, and smoking status, 18-month change in IMT was significantly inversely related to the 3 measured oxygenated carotenoids (lutein, ␤-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin; PϽ0.02 for all) and one hydrocarbon carotenoid, ␣-carotene (Pϭ0.003). After adjusting for additional cardiac risk factors and potential confounders, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, these associations remained significant (PϽ0.05). Conclusions-These findings suggest that higher levels of plasma oxygenated carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, ␤-cryptoxanthin) and ␣-carotene may be protective against early atherosclerosis. Key Words: atherosclerosis Ⅲ antioxidants Ⅲ carotid arteries T he oxidative-modification hypothesis proposes that atherogenesis is initiated by oxidative damage to lowdensity lipoproteins (LDL) in the artery wall. The presence of oxidized LDL in the subendothelium of arteries stimulates monocyte recruitment and differentiation to macrophage, resulting in the formation of foam cells and increased thickness of arterial walls. 1 Antioxidants have been hypothesized to inhibit lipid peroxidation and play a protective role against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. 2 In vitro studies suggest that vitamins C and E and carotenoids inhibit the damaging activities of oxidized LDL cholesterol. [3][4][5] Evidence from population studies, including descriptive, case-control, and cohort studies, has shown that dietary, 6 -11 plasma, or serum level of vitamin E, 12-14 ascorbic acid, 15-17 and carotenoids 18 -22 were inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality rate or early atherosclerosis. However, other epidemiological studies have reported no association between cardiovascular events with plasma 23,24 or serum antioxidants, 25-27 and dominantly negative results have been reported from intervention trials of ␤-carotene or vitamin E. 28 -32 We previously reported that dietary supplementation with lutein reduced atherosclerosis in two strains of susceptible mice. 22 We also found that plasma lutein was inversely associated with progression of atherosclerosis, as measured by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), in a cohort of middle-aged women and men. ...

Blood glucose is an independent predictor of PDT in stable CAD patients. The relationship is evident even in the range of blood glucose levels considered normal, indicating that the risk associated with blood glucose may be continuous and graded. These findings suggest that the increased CAD risk associated with elevated blood glucose may be, in part, related to enhanced platelet-mediated thrombogenesis.