TRANSIENT REDUCTION OF AUTOANTIBODIES AGAINST OXIDIZED LDL IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

Fifteen consecutive patients (mean age 66 +/- 14, range 31-82) with an acute myocardial infarction (MI) suitable for thrombolytic therapy we re included in this study. Autoantibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assa y (ELISA). Patients (n = 10) with marked elevation of the MB isoenzyme of creatinine kinase (CK-MB)-mass had significant decreases of oLDL-A b during the acute phase, with a minimum after 8 h following the onset of thrombolytic therapy (within-group significance: p < .001; between groups: p = .01). Patients (n = 5) with CK-MB-mass values less than 7 0 ng/ml did not show this phenomenon. Furthermore, significant correla tions existed between CK-MB-mass and oLDL-Ab after 6 and 8 h (n = 15; r = .72; p = .003) and the time of the highest CK-MB-mass values (afte r 12 h) and the time of the maximal decrease of oLDL-Ab (after 8 h) (r = .74; p = .003). Our observations provide further evidence for the r elease of free radicals and for increased lipid peroxidation during re perfusion after prolonged ischemia. The decrease of oLDL-Ab appears to be a marker for the severity of MI.