The invention provides antibodies that specifically bind to medin. The antibodies have the capacity to bind to monomeric, misfolded, aggregated, fibril or deposited forms of medin. The antibodies can be used for treating or effecting prophylaxis of diseases associated with medin, medin accumulation or accumulation of medin deposits (e.g., medin amyloidosis). The antibodies can also be used for diagnosing medin amyloidosis and inhibiting or reducing aggregation of medin, among other applications.

The invention provides antibodies that specifically bind to medin. The antibodies have the capacity to bind to monomeric, misfolded, aggregated, fibril or deposited forms of medin. The antibodies can be used for treating or effecting prophylaxis of diseases associated with medin, medin accumulation or accumulation of medin deposits (e.g., medin amyloidosis). The antibodies can also be used for diagnosing medin amyloidosis and inhibiting or reducing aggregation of medin, among other applications.

The present invention provides compositions and methods based on genetic polymorphisms that are associated with coronary heart disease (particularly myocardial infarction), aneurysm/dissection, and/or response to drug treatment, particularly statin treatment. For example, the present invention relates to nucleic acid molecules containing the polymorphisms, variant proteins encoded by these nucleic acid molecules, reagents for detecting the polymorphic nucleic acid molecules and variant proteins, and methods of using the nucleic acid molecules and proteins as well as methods of using reagents for their detection.

The invention relates to a lateral flow device for the detection of at least one protein (AAD-protein) released during an event leading to an acute aortic syndrome/acute aortic dissection (AAS/AAD) in a sample of bodily fluid of a human/patient, the device comprising a strip, a sample pad for receiving the sample of the bodily fluid, a first conjugate pad with a conjugate comprising a protein antibody binding to said AAD-protein and a first detection band comprising a first conjugate-binding protein so that the presence of said AAD-protein in the sample is indicated by a visible color change, wherein the AAD-protein is selected from a group of biomarkers for AAS/AAD including D-dimer smooth muscle actin myosin isozyme CK-MB and nucleic acid component (DISAMIN). In addition, the invention relates in other aspects also to a method for the detection of an AAD-protein in the blood of a patient using the lateral flow device according to the invention, a kit comprising this device as well as a method for determination of the presence of AAD in a patient using an immunoassay.

The present invention refers to an In vitro method for screening for subjects at risk of developing thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) or a disease causing TAA comprising: (a) measuring the expression pattern or level of at least A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motifs 1 (ADAMTS1) obtained from an isolated biological sample of the subjects to be screened; and (b) comparing said expression pattern or level of at least ADAMTS1 of the subjects to be screened with an already established expression pattern or level, wherein reduced expression of at least ADAMTS1 is indicative of a thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA).

Thoracic aortic aneurysm is a common and lethal disease that requires regular imaging surveillance to determine timing of surgical repair and prevent major complications such as rupture. Current cross-sectional imaging surveillance techniques, largely based on computed tomography angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), are focused on measurement of maximal aortic diameter, although this approach is limited to fixed anatomic positions and is prone to significant measurement error. The present techniques demonstrate novel approaches (generally termed herein Vascular Deformation Mapping (VDM)) for assessing changes in aortic dimensions. The present techniques quantify three-dimensional changes in the anatomic dimensions of a vessel through a process that involves non-rigid co-registration of serial imaging data and quantification of vascular deformation on a 3D surface model using some derivation of the spatial deformations resulting from the optimized spatial transform.

Disclosed are screening methods for determining a human subject's propensity to develop a vascular disorder and/or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), therapeutic or prophylactic compounds for treating disease or inhibiting its development, and methods of treating patients to alleviate symptoms of the disease, prevent or delay its onset, or inhibit its progression. The inventions are based on the discovery that persons with a genome having a deletion of the CFHR-1 and/or CFHR-3 gene, which normally lie on human chromosome 1 between DNA encoding CFH and CFHR-4, are at reduced risk of developing AMD, and elevated risk of developing vascular disease such as aneurysm.

The present invention concerns the use of CD146 as a marker of the vascular wall tension, especially for diagnosing, predicting and/or prognosticating diseases associated with variations of the vessel wall tension.

Methods for detecting abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or predisposition to AAA in a apoE subject, methods for monitoring the efficacy of treatment of AAA in a subject, and methods for evaluating the severity of AAA or risk of AAA in a subject involve measuring the amount of tetrahydrobiopterin (H4B) present in the test sample and comparing it to the amount of H4B present in a standard or previous test sample. A decreased amount of H4B present in the test sample compared to the standard is indicative of AAA or predisposition to AAA. Treatment can be administered to the subject prior to a second time point, and an increased amount of H4B present in the second test sample compared to the first test sample is indicative of effective treatment of AAA. Candidates can be identified for further testing or monitoring for AAA, and/or for treatment for AAA.

The present invention relates to a method for assessing whether a subject shall be subjected to an imaging based diagnostic assessment. The method is based on the determination of the amount(s) of a cardiac Troponin and/or Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (FGF-23) in a sample from the subject, and on the comparison of the, thus, determined amount(s) with a reference amount (reference amounts). The present invention also relates to a system for performing an assessment whether a subject shall be subjected to an imaging based diagnostic assessment and to reagents and kits used in performing the methods disclosed herein. Moreover, the present invention is directed to a method for predicting the risk of mortality and/or of a cardiovascular event. Also encompassed is a method for diagnosing an early stage of LVH in a subject having a preserved left ventricular ejection.