Markers of systemic inflammation of blood serum of patients with atherosclerotic injury of carotid arteries

Concentration of interleukin (IL)-6, -10 and C-reactive protein (CRP) in serum of 61 patients with atherosclerotic carotid artery disease was studied by immunosorbent assay. The obtained data were compared with the morphological features of biopsy samples obtained during the carotid endarterectomy. Patients with atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid artery had high concentrations of IL-6, IL-10 and CRP in serum, associated with progressive course of atherosclerosis and its complications. The level of cytokines and CRP in serum can be one of the diagnostic criterion of the unstable atherosclerotic plaque.