Active clinical trials for "Plaque, Atherosclerotic"

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is intended to relieve myocardial ischemia by improving blood flow in the epicardial coronary arteries. However, the efficacy of PCI may be compromised by incidental microvascular obstruction and peri-procedural myocardial infarction (PPMI), which occurs in about 10-15% of cases and is associated with increased rates of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The mechanism of PPMI is thought to be related to side branch occlusion, coronary artery dissection and acute microvascular damage caused by embolization of plaque debris during the PCI and is more frequently seen in calcified coronary artery disease. Calcium modification by rotational atherectomy (RA) results in peri-procedural myocardial infarction in 24% of cases and myocardial injury in 70% of cases. The Shockwave coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) balloon catheter emits sonic pressure waves in a circumferential field causing the selective fracture of calcium, altering vessel compliance and permitting further expansion of the vessel wall. This provides a potentially safer alternative to other calcium-modifying devices since there is a low risk of dissection and perforation. It is also proposed that this IVL device reduces the risk of atheromatous embolization, which would reduce the risk of PPMI and microvascular dysfunction. The SONAR Trial is a pilot study measuring peri-procedural myocardial injury, PPMI and microvascular dysfunction in patients (with calcified coronary artery lesions not responding to usual balloon dilatation) randomized to RA or Shockwave IVL. The primary outcome is peri-procedural myocardial infarction. Secondary outcomes include peri-procedural myocardial injury, acute microvascular dysfunction, procedural success, and procedural costs.

Extensive arterial occlusion significantly reduces arterial perfusion, and may eventually lead to Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). The pathology gives rise to symptoms such as ischemic pain, slow healing wounds at lower extremity and gangrene. It places patients with multi-segment occlusion at high risks of amputations and mortality. The treatment methods for such long occlusive lesions are limited. Traditionally, the standard of care would be surgical revascularization. This is because lesion length have been identified in several studies as an independent risk factor for the development of restenosis after angioplasty and/or stenting. However, thanks to recent advances in endovascular techniques, such as the utilization of subintimal technique for crossing long segment occlusions, it is now possible to employ endovascular techniques for suitable patients.The re-establishment of an in-line flow, even if only temporary, can allow tissue healing, which is vital in achieving limb salvage. In addition, the use of Drug Coated Balloons (DCB) can potentially reduce restenosis rate, as Sirolimus have an anti-proliferative effect. To date, there are few studies that have evaluated the performance of DCB in lesions that are longer than 10cm. The investigators hope to evaluate the performance of the Selution DCB when used in treatment of such lesions

To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Ranger™ Paclitaxel Coated Balloon for treating lesions located in the superficial femoral and proximal popliteal arteries (SFA/PPA). Long Balloon substudy: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) Ranger™ Paclitaxel Coated Balloon in the 120, 150 and 200 mm lengths for treating Superficial Femoral Artery (SFA) and/or Proximal Popliteal Artery (PPA) lesions.

The present study aims at assessing the ability of 68Ga-NODAGA-RGD PET/CT for the detection of inflammatory atheromatous plaques in the carotid arteries, compared to 18F-FDG PET/CT, MRI and US and to determine the contribution of each imaging technique. Current gold standard for inflammation is histopathology. Hypothesis : 68Ga-NODAGA-RGD might give a better initial evaluation of patients with atheromatous plaques in the carotid artery eligible for endarterectomy.

Patients treated at the Hôpital Nord de Marseille for at least one smoking-related pathology (atheroma, chronic bronchitis, non-progressive cancer > 5 years) or with eligibility criteria for lung cancer screening (inclusion criteria in the NLST or NELSON studies or American recommendations) Interventional study with minimal risks and constraints, with evaluation of lung cancer prevalence; immunological, blood inflammatory and microbiota profile Determine the maximum clinical, radiological, and biological phenotyping completeness rate following the implementation of a new lung cancer screening care pathway with multidimensional clinical, radiological, and biological phenotyping capabilities

Accumulating data in the literature suggests that radiolabeled-choline (18F-choline) is a sensitive molecular tracer for PET imaging that is taken up in activated cells and, as such, is able to identify active inflammatory sites. The investigators hypothesize that 18F-choline is also highly taken up in vulnerable plaques in comparison to the stable ones.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the Western world and the leading cause of major lifelong disability. About 15% of strokes are secondary to thrombosis or embolization of an unstable atheromatous carotid plaque. In these symptomatic patients, the degree of carotid stenosis is correlated with the risk of early recurrence. Patients with stenosis over 70% are therefore offered an endarterectomy, an operation to remove carotid plaque, to prevent future strokes[1]. In asymptomatic patients, the degree of stenosis is a limited predictor, and better risk stratification is required to assess the degree of plaque vulnerability and stroke risk of the patient. The therapeutic decision towards endarterectomy in addition to drug therapy is debated because of a variable and dependent benefit/risk balance for each patient. A number of imaging parameters have been studied: ulceration, heterogeneity, vascularization of the plaque for example, but their place is not well defined [2]. The usual evaluation of carotid stenosis is by conventional Doppler ultrasound with calculation of the degree of stenosis according to the NASCET criteria. For symptomatic stenoses the intervention is recommended when above 70% and is discussed from 50% to 70% of NASCET stenosis degree. For asymptomatic stenoses, the procedure is discussed when above 60% taking into account the patient's life expectancy, the risk of the surgery and the unstable nature of the plaque [2]. Destabilization of the carotid plaque is partially induced by inflammation associated with neo-vascularization. The detection of these new vessels by conventional contrast ultrasound has already shown a distinction between stable and unstable plaques, by the presence or absence of microbubbles in the plaque. However, this assessment is not very precise and only the most vascularized plaques can be detected. Ultrafast ultrasound Imaging is a new ultrasonic Imaging modality that allows detecting low speed flows, a tiny vascular structure within the vessel wall. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Plaques neo-vascularization would be more precisely detected and characterized by ultrafast imaging coupled with microbubble injection than conventional ultrasound imaging. A better assessment of plaque instability could improve the selection of patients for carotid endarterectomy and increase the benefit/risk ratio of this preventive surgery.

The primary aim of the trial is to determine whether preventive PCI with bioabsorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) (early period) or everolimus-eluting stents (middle and late period) plus optimal medical therapy (OMT) on functionally insignificant (FFR > 0.80) vulnerable coronary plaque, as determined by intracoronary imaging, would result in a significant reduction of the primary composite outcome of death from cardiac causes, target-vessel myocardial infarction (MI), target-vessel revascularization (TVR), and hospitalization for unstable or progressive angina at 2 years, when compared with OMT alone.

The primary goal of the trial is to investigate whether the lipid lowering strategy using Alirocumab plus statin could cause more changes from baseline in intracranial atherosclerotic plaque and hemodynamic features during 6 months of follow-up, in patients with asymptomatic intracranial artery stenosis.

Plaque erosion is associated with myocardial infarction (MI) in about 30% of cases and may require a different management approach to plaque rupture. The investigators hypothesise that plaque erosion leads to higher levels of apoptotic circulating endothelial cells (CECs) compared to plaque rupture. Aims: To compare associations between plaque erosion and plaque rupture with numbers and types of apoptotic CECs in patients with non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI) and stable coronary artery disease controls (CAD). Additional aims are to explore signals of cellular stress (mitochondrial dsDNA), sub-populations of activated neutrophils, circulating endothelial progenitor cells and erosion-specific plasma biomarkers. Methods: Prospective observational study of 80 patients with NSTEMI and 40 patients with stable CAD. Plaque erosion or rupture will be identified by intracoronary Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). CECs and neutrophils will be quantified and characterised using flow cytometry looking at markers of cell death and neutrophil activation. Plasma will be analysed by proteomic methods (Olink) and for mitochondrial dsDNA. Potential importance of findings: This study will provide evidence for the hypothesised mechanism of plaque erosion and clarify if biomarker analysis in NSTEMI patients provides a basis for non-invasive diagnosis of plaque erosion versus rupture.