Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | Most experimental investigations on arteriosclerosis presently refer to one phenomenon of structural modifications: the deposition of lipoid substances in the arterial wall. We, however, are not authorized to identify, without more ado, arterial wall xanthomatosis in animal with human arteriosclerotic lesions. The xanthomatosis can only be regarded as a test for a single phase of a very complicated process. In human arteriosclerosis the action and the troubles of the vasomotor nerves are the primum movens of the pathogenetic mechanism. Most of the structural lesions remain clinically silent. They really are scars and marks of adaptation to a chronic disease, the clinical manifestations of which, e.g. vasomotor troubles, mostly appear a long time before the structural deteriorations. Experimental studies on arteriosclerosis have facilitated the comprehension of many pathogenetic details, but the interpretation of their results requires a cautious attitude. Particular reserve is required for conclusions concerning retrogressive phenomena in experimental conditions and for therapeutic propositions derived from them. Without this reservation the danger exists that the campaign against arteriosclerosis which, in view of the alarming increase in cardio-vascular illnesses in most countries, is an urgent need, would be misled and even paralyzed. © 1952 S. Karger AG, Basel. |
