IL6 and carotid atherosclerosis: A common feature observed in subjects with insulin resistance, T2DM, and atherosclerotic heart disease is chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation [3,4] as evidenced by increases in the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6) in the blood, as well as increased concentrations in the blood of surrogate markers for systemic IL-6 bioactivity, such as C-reactive protein.