The increase in fibrous cap thickness correlated with the decrease in serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( R = -0.450 ; p < 0.001 ) , malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein ( R = -0.283 ; p = 0.029 ) , high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( R = -0.276 ; p = 0.033 ) , and matrix metalloproteinase-9 ( R = -0.502 ; p < 0.001 ) , and the decrease in grade of OCT-derived macrophages ( R = -0.415 ; p = 0.003 ) .