Dietary vegetable-, wood- or vegetable/wood-derived stanol esters reduce atherosclerotic lesion size and severity in APOE*3-Leiden transgenic mice

No Association Between Plasma Levels of Plant Sterols and Atherosclerosis in Mice and Men

“…One concern with the use of plant sterols as a cholesterol-lowering agent is that the increase in plasma plant sterols associated with dietary plant sterol supplementation may be atherogenic. Diets supplemented with high levels of plant sterols have been shown to prevent plaque formation in a variety of animal models, including apolipoprotein E knockout mice, 29,30 apoE*3 Leiden transgenic mice, 31 and in New Zealand White rabbits. 32 In these animals, the reduction in atherosclerosis correlated with the reductions in plasma cholesterol levels associated with plant sterol administration.…”

Torcetrapib Does Not Reduce Atherosclerosis Beyond Atorvastatin and Induces More Proinflammatory Lesions Than Atorvastatin

“…Lesions were categorized for severity according to the guidelines of the American Heart Association, adapted for mice. 23,24 Various types of lesions were discerned: type 0 (no lesions), types 1 through 3 (early fatty streak-like lesions containing foam cells), and type 4 to 5 (advanced lesions containing foam cells in the media, presence of fibrosis, cholesterol clefts, mineralization, and/or necrosis). Lesion area was determined with Leica Qwin image analysis software (EIS, Asbury, NJ).…”

Dual PPARα/γ Agonist Tesaglitazar Reduces Atherosclerosis in Insulin-Resistant and Hypercholesterolemic ApoE*3Leiden Mice

“…39 Four sections of each specimen, containing 3 valve segments each, were analyzed at 40-m intervals to determine the average lesion number (numbers were counted and totalled per specimen and finally meaned per group [HC/T/LC]), type, and area. 40 In addition, descending aortas were isolated and snap-frozen until further analysis. During later analysis, vessels were cleaned of adherent fat, and then stained for lipids using Oil red O for "en face" morphometry of the atherosclerotic lesion area (Leica Qwin morphometric software).…”