Active clinical trials for "Atherosclerosis"

Major vascular surgery involves operations to repair swollen blood vessels, clear debris from blocked arteries or bypass blocked blood vessels. Patients with these problems are a high-risk surgical group as they have generalized blood vessel disease. These puts them at risk of major complications around the time of surgery such as heart attacks , strokes and death. The mortality following repair of a swollen main artery in the abdomen is about 1 in 20. This contrasts poorly with the 1 per 100 risk of death following a heart bypass. Simple and cost-effective methods are needed to reduce the risks of major vascular surgery. Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) may be such a technique. To induce RIPC, the blood supply to muscle in the patient's arm is interrupted for about 5 minutes. It is then restored for a further five minutes. This cycle is repeated three more times. The blood supply is interrupted simply by inflating a blood pressure cuff to maximum pressure. This repeated brief interruption of the muscular blood supply sends signals to critical organs such as the brain and heart, which are rendered temporarily resistant to damage from reduced blood supply. Several small randomized clinical trials in patients undergoing different types of major vascular surgery have demonstrated a potential benefit. This large, multi-centre trial aims to determine whether RIPC can reduce complications in routine practice.

The potential for nattokinase to "thin" blood and to reduce blood clotting by positive antithrombotic and fibrinolytic effects presents a unique opportunity to safely study such effects on cardiovascular disease and cognition. Unfortunately, such studies of antithrombotic and fibrinolytic pathways of prevention have been limited due to lack of safe compounds and the adverse reactions associated with current agents such as Coumadin. Nattokinase, an over-the-counter supplement used for cardiovascular health, is the most active functional constituent of natto, a fermented soy product. Natto has been consumed primarily by the Japanese for over 1000 years, a population with one of the lowest risks for cardiovascular disease and dementia. Cardiovascular disease and dementia remain the most challenging age-related health risks of the 21st century for Americans necessitating development of further effective preemptive strategies. Whether reducing the propensity for thrombus formation and/or increasing fibrinolytic activity can prevent the progression of atherosclerosis and cognitive decline has not yet been determined. Using nattokinase under primary prevention conditions, the investigators propose to conduct a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether decreasing atherothrombotic risk can reduce the progression of atherosclerosis and cognitive decline. The investigators propose to randomize 240 healthy non-demented women and men to nattokinase supplementation or to placebo for three years. The primary trial end points will be measurement of carotid arterial wall thickness and arterial stiffness, early changes of atherosclerosis that can be measured safely by non-invasive imaging techniques. The secondary trial end point will be ascertained through change in cognition measured by a neuropsychological battery. In addition, biochemical blood measurements and in vitro studies will be conducted to compare the effects of nattokinase relative to placebo on blood coagulation and thrombus break-down capabilities, blood flow properties, inflammation and inflammatory activation of endothelial cells that line blood vessels. At the conclusion of this trial, the investigators expect to have sufficient evidence as to whether reducing the propensity for thrombus formation and/or increasing fibrinolytic activity can prevent the progression of atherosclerosis and cognitive decline. These results will provide novel and important data that will be informative concerning primary prevention through the atherothrombotic pathway. Providing evidence for a reduction in atherosclerosis progression and cognitive decline with nattokinase is likely to shift the current clinical paradigm for the prevention of these chronic age-related processes. In addition, such evidence will serve to create a new field of discovery and opportunity for prevention of cardiovascular disease and dementia.

Despite of intensive efforts, no specific ath¬erosclerosis-targeting agent labeled with positron emitter is not yet available. Fortunately, some scientists made the major advance in the field of clinical atherosclerosis molecular imaging by the metabolic PET reporter agent 18F(fluorine-18)-FDG(Fludeoxyglucose) applied to noninvasively image plaque macrophages in carotid arteries. However, coronary and cerebral arterial segments remain uninterpretable due to metabolic property of 18F-FDG. Applying the character of the terminal mannose residues of MSA binding with the mannose receptors of macrophages in atherosclerosis, we investigate whether 68Ga-MSA can be a novel agent for non-invasive molecular imaging of atherosclerotic lesion in PET.

The purpose of the study is to examine if blood flow in the brain before coronary artery bypass graft surgery has an effect on depression after surgery. The main hypothesis of the study states that pre-surgical blood flow in the brain will be an independent risk factor for depression after surgery after adjusting for other risk factors such as gender, pre-CABG depression, social support, medical comorbidity burden, socioeconomic status, and neuroticism.

To collect post marketing surveillance data on patients receiving at least one Combo Bio-Engineered Sirolimus Eluting Stent when used according to the Instructions for Use. Data will be collected in order to assess the long term safety and performance of the Combo Stent in routine clinical practice.

BIOLUX P-III is a prospective, international, multi-centre, postmarket all-comers registry to collect clinical performance data on the Passeo-18 Lux paclitaxel releasing balloon catheter in the treatment of atherosclerotic disease of the infrainguinal arteries.

Heart attacks and strokes caused by the unstable atherosclerotic plaques remain the leading cause of death in the United States. Unstable plaques often have more fat than stable plaques. This study will investigate if a treatment with LDL-lowering plus HDL-raising compared with LDL-lowering alone would more effectively reduce the plaque fat content assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), therefore, further reducing heart attacks and strokes.

This is a longitudinal observational study of HIV-infected patients and HIV-negative control patients that is being conducted to learn more about immunologic factors, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk in patients with HIV infection or in patients with autoimmune disease. The investigators plan to obtain measurement of carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) using high resolution ultrasound as a noninvasive means for tracking atherosclerotic progression. The investigators will also measure lipid and lipoprotein levels, inflammatory markers, markers of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, thrombotic markers, atherogenic lipoproteins, and markers of immune function. Immunophenotyping will be performed on freshly collected blood and analyzed by flow cytometry to identify activated T-cells, T-cell turnover, proportions of T-cells, and CMV function. HIV-infected patients will have CD4 count and HIV viral load measured in addition. Patients will undergo detailed clinical history including HIV disease, specific HIV medications, comorbid conditions, and health related behaviors. Physical exam and measurements will be obtained to assess for the presence of lipodystrophy. Patients will undergo study visits for ultrasound, blood draw, and interview at 4-12 month intervals for the next 3 years. Patients will also go assessment of endothelial function, endothelial progenitor cells, arterial stiffness as measured using pulse wave tonometry. To demonstrate the feasibility of a larger scale investigation of cardiac arrhythmia in HIV positive and negative patients with cardiac disease, the investigators will use 48-hour Holter monitor surveillance to monitor HIV-infected and uninfected patients with a history of myocardial infarction, systolic left ventricular dysfunction, and/or pulmonary artery hypertension for the presence of cardiac arrhythmia. The FDG PET scan (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography) will be used to detect and quantify inflammation in the body.

Background: Atherosclerosis, the arterial plaques or blockages that cause heart disease, develops in many people by the time they are in their mid-20s. The rate of atherosclerosis in patients with immune system disorders has not been well studied, but it may be very different from the general population. Patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) produce less of a group of molecules known as free radicals, which help to fight infection and may play a role in the development of atherosclerosis. Patients with CGD may develop atherosclerosis much more slowly than people without CGD. On the other hand, carrier mothers of children with genetically-linked CGD often have problems with autoimmune problems in addition to a problem with making free radicals. Patients with other immune system disorders also have very different responses to infection, and many of them also have autoimmune-like problems that may change the risk of developing atherosclerosis. Objectives: - To study the prevalence of atherosclerosis in patients with immune system disorders, compared with healthy individuals. Eligibility: - Individuals at least 18 years of age who either have been diagnosed with an immune system disorder or are healthy volunteers. Design: The active part of the study involves one or two visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center for a series of imaging tests and scans. Participants will have the following tests during the active part of the study: (1) CAT scan to obtain images of the chest arteries and measure the amount of calcium in the artery walls. (2) Magnetic resonance imaging scan to obtain images of the coronary and carotid arteries in the chest and neck. (3) Electrocardiogram to provide data on current heart function. (4) Blood samples to provide data on heart, kidney, and immune system function. Participants will be contacted every 2 years in the future for up to 30 years to determine whether they have developed heart disease. Researchers will ask participants to provide contact information for two other people who may likely know how to get in touch with the participant in the future.

The aim of the present study is to examine the atherosclerotic plaque stability using in vivo and in vitro techniques and to investigate the influence of exercise, anti-diabetic, lipid-lowering and cannabinoids receptor antagonists on atherosclerotic plaque texture in patients with cardiovascular risk and animals prone to atherosclerosis.