Biomarkers for vascular ageing in aorta tissues and blood samples.

Abstract Objectives Functional and quantitative alterations and senescence of circulating and expanded endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), as well as systemic and tissue modifications of angiogenetic and inflammatory molecules, were evaluated for predicting age-related vessel wall remodeling, correlating them to intima media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery (CCA), a biomarker of early cardiovascular disease and aortic root dilation. Populations and methods A homogenous Caucasian population was included in the study, constituted by 160 healthy subjects (80 old subjects, mean age 72 ± 6.4, range 66–83 years; and 80 younger blood donors, mean age 26.2 ± 3.4, range 21–33 years), and…