Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer: inflammation, the missing link

Higher Blood Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 is Related to the Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background

Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is associated with vascular-related inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether VCAM-1 can be used for an indication of increased risk of CV events in patients with COPD.

Methods

Serum VCAM-1 levels were measured in 163 COPD patients. All COPD patients were prospectively followed up for a median period of 48 months (range=3-54). Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of serum VCAM-1 for predicting CV events.

Results

Serum VCAM-1 levels were higher in COPD patients with CV events than in those without CV events (1174.4±365.3 ng/mL vs 947.8±293.2 ng/mL; P<0.001). The logistic regression analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (OR=1.750; 95% CI, 1.324-2.428; Ptrend=0.0012) was independently associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease) history after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, current smoker, current drinker, admission systolic and diastolic BP, LVEF and laboratory measurements in patients with COPD at baseline. The Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the rate of CV events was higher in COPD patients with serum VCAM-1 levels above the median (517.3 ng/mL) than in those with VCAM-1 levels below the median. The Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that serum VCAM-1 (HR=2.617; 95% CI, 1.673-5.328; Ptrend<0.001) may be an independent prognostic factor for CV events in the COPD patients.

Conclusion

Our results suggested that serum VCAM-1 was significantly and independently associated with CV events in COPD patients. The inflammatory marker may help clinicians predict CV complications early.

The Relationship Between Serum VCAM-1 and Alzheimer's Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have reported that diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) plays an important role in the pathological process of atherosclerosis. The aim was to elucidate the relationship between serum VCAM-1 and early AD in DM patients.

METHODS

Serum samples for VCAM-1 were tested in 208 DM patients. All included DM patients were followed up for a median of 36 months prospectively. The prognostic value of serum VCAM-1 for predicting AD events was analyzed by using Cox proportional hazard.

RESULTS

Serum VCAM-1 was independently associated with AD history after adjusting for related confounding factors in patients with DM at baseline by using the logistic regression analysis (OR=1.861; 95% CI, 1.435-2.539; P _trend=0.020). The Cox proportional hazard model suggested that VCAM-1 was a prognostic factor for AD events in the DM patients (HR=2.728; 95% CI, 1.785-5.439; P _trend<0.001). Stratified analysis showed that the significant association between AD event and serum VCAM-1 in DM patients was not affective by CVD history.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that higher VCAM-1 levels were significantly related to a higher risk of AD events in DM patients. The serum biomarker might be beneficial to predict AD early. Serum VCAM-1 might be a good biochemical parameter for predicting AD in DM.