Inhibitors of vascular calcification as potential therapeutic targets

Vascular calcification is frequent in the general population. Its incidence increases with age. It contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with advanced atherosclerosis, in the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Both diabetes and CKD aggravate its degree of severity and accelerate its progression. Vascular calcification is the result of both passive and active processes of calcium phosphate deposition in the arterial wall. These processes are more or less successfully opposed by inhibitory proteins and nonpeptidic factors. In the present overview we discuss the roles of several among these vascular calcification inhibitors which represent potential therapeutic targets.