CD 40 soluble ligand and acute coronary syndromes

Current research is focused on the new cardiac markers that allow detect earlier stages of acute coronary syndromes than is possible with troponins. One of the most promising is CD40 ligand. Clinical data showed that higher levels of sCD40L are associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events. Elevation of soluble CD40 ligand identifies the subgroup of patients who are likely to benefit from antiplatelet treatment with IIb/IIIa antagonists. This marker can be usefull for the assessment of risk stratification before planning stent implantation. Future investigation should include large, well-designed prospective observational cohort studies of patients in risk of ACS in order to evaluate the performance of sCD40L as a diagnostic test for ACS.