Background: Obesity, an independent cardiovascular disease
risk factor, is the leading cause of death in the world. It has been previously
shown that arterial stiffness,which is an index of cardiovascular disease, is
significantly higher in Japanese overweight and obese men. Increased levels
of pentraxin3 (PTX3), a novel anti-inflammatory substance mainly produced in
the atherosclerotic region, due to weight reduction has been proposed to reflect
an improvement in arterial stiffness. However, this has not been investigated.
Methods: Here, we elucidate whether an individual who has significantly
increased plasma PTX3 concentration result in a significantly decreased arterial
stiffness compared to a smaller change in PTX3 level after a 12-week dietary
modified weight reduction program in twenty overweight or obese Japanese men.
A well-balanced dietary modification weight-loss program was implemented for
overweight and obese men over a course of 12-week.
Results: Prior to and after the program, we measured anthropometric variables,
blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and circulating biochemistry, including
plasma PTX3 concentrations. We then compared the differences in arterial
stiffness between two groups, low or high
