NUCLEAR MICROSCOPY OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC TISSUE

Of the many proposed coronary disease risk factors, the link between h eart disease and stored iron has been the subject of recent interest. Samples of proximal thoracic aorta were taken from rabbits fed with 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks, and also from control animals. Unstained fr eeze dried sections were scanned using the nuclear microscope at the N ational University of Singapore (NUS) and results indicate that there is an eightfold increase in iron (from 12 ppm to 90 ppm) within the at herosclerotic lesion compared with normal tissue. This result adds wei ght to the theory that iron may act as a factor in the oxidative modif ication of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which induces the formation of foam cells, characteristic of early atherosclerotic lesions.