Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide despite the successful development of several pharmaceutical interventions of which statin therapy is the dominating lipid... Show moreCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide despite the successful development of several pharmaceutical interventions of which statin therapy is the dominating lipid-lowering treatment option. Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of multifactorial origin, is a dominant contributor to the development of CVD. The research described in this thesis provides evidence for anti-atherogenic effects of several innovative pharmaceutical interventions that are currently being investigated in clinical trials, targeting hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, more specifically high low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), as risk factors for CVD. Our results further support additional benefit of these treatment strategies in combination with statin treatment which is currently the __gold standard__ therapy for the treatment of CVD. Most of these lipid-modifying treatment strategies affect both LDL-C and HDL-C and we demonstrate that the beneficial effects of these treatment strategies predominantly derive from their non-HDL-C/LDL-C-lowering abilities. Nonetheless, results from preclinical studies and clinical trials support the notion that treatment strategies aimed at improving HDL function and raising apolipoprotein A-I may also inhibit the development of atherosclerosis and reduce the prevalence of CVD. Show less
