This is like arguing that plaque inside the arteries of heart patients is protective because it holds the vessel wall together, Schenk says.

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Through the 1970s scientists focused on the interaction between deposits of cholesterol and the smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall that contains it.

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Since porphyrins are taken up by blood vessels, some researchers reckon that they might be useful in treating atherosclerosis an inflammatory process that thickens and damages the vessel wall.

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Children also showed improvement in hearing, skeletal rigidity or cardiovascular changes such as decreased arterial stiffness and improved vessel-wall density.

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Ultimately, cardiologists hope to create a powerful new triple-threat cocktail combining today's statin drugs for lowering bad cholesterol (like Lipitor) with new compounds to boost good cholesterol and other drugs that would directly reduce vessel-wall inflammation.

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The balloon is inflated against the diseased wall to squash the lesion and clear the vessel.

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