Active clinical trials for "Carotid Stenosis"

To determine whether warfarin or lovastatin alone or in combination retarded the progression of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries of high risk individuals with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Also, to determine if a full scale trial was feasible.

The purpose of this study is to study the effects of intermittent whole-body hypoxic preconditioning on patients with carotid artery stenosis.

Carotid plaque can lead to ischemic stroke. Treatment of asymptomatic carotid plaque, based on degree stenosis, is still controversial. Beyond the degree of stenosis, the composition of the plaque could reflect the vulnerability and the risk of ipsilateral ischemic stroke. Identification of new predictive factor of ipsilateral ischemic stroke in patients with carotid plaque could help to screen high risk patients and to guide the treatment. The aim of the study is to assess 18F-sodium fluoride uptake among carotid plaque in recently symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Investigators conduct a pilot case-control study. Twelve patients (6 recently symptomatic and 6 asymptomatic) with carotid stenosis (≥50% NASCET) will have a 18F-sodium fluoride PET/MR. Standardized uptake value (SUV) and tissue-to-background ratio (TBR) will be measured among carotid plaques.

The goal of the proposed study is to contrast the relative efficacy of closed-cell stents versus open-cell stents in preventing periprocedural cerebral embolization in high-risk patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic extracranial carotid stenosis undergoing carotid artery stenting (CAS).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether carotid angioplasty with stent (CAS) is as safe and effective as carotid surgery in regards to: the risk of stroke and death within 30 days of the procedure; the long-term risk of ipsilateral carotid territory stroke, in patients with recently symptomatic, severe carotid stenosis suitable for both CAS and carotid endarterectomy.

Aim of the study is to determine whether endovascular systemic cooling to a target temperature of 34-35°C initiated before, and maintained during Carotid EndoArterectomy (CEA), is feasible and safe

The investigators hypothesize that pre-operative statin use is neuroprotective at maximal doses. The goals are to determine the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of maximizing statin doses for two weeks (12-18 days) prior to CEA using change in performance on a battery neuropsychometric tests as outcome measure. Study will recruit patients based on their preexisting statin regimen. The investigators hypothesize that in asymptomatic CEA patients: 1) Pre-operative statin use is neuroprotective against early cognitive dysfunction (eCD) and lowers the risk of early mortality. 2) Maximal doses may be essential in achieving optimal neuroprotection against eCD.

This study evaluates effects of high inspiratory oxygen on cerebral tissue oxygenation and patient recovery after carotid endarterectomy. Two group of patient undergoing to carotid with total intravenous anaesthesia will receive either 35% inspired oxygen or 100% oxygen.

In the entire world most people die from cardiovascular disease. Death is primarily from myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke which are most often caused by rupture of atherosclerotic plaques. Patients with high-grade, i.e. ≥ 70% carotid artery stenosis are at especially high risk. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies show that two features inside plaques that are associated with the risk of plaque rupture and subsequent cardiovascular events are: lipid rich necrotic core (LRNC) and intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH). MRI studies on carotid artery plaques typically relies on proton-density-weighted fast-spin echo, blood-suppressed T1- and T2-weighted gradient-echo sequences. The end-result is nonquantitative measures, where plaque features are identified due to their relative signal intensity. To address these problems of non-specificity, we developed a quantitative MRI (qMRI) technique based on Dixon sequences. The study intention is to enable in-depth analysis of plaque features and their relation to clinical data. For example there is an insufficient understanding of associations between lipid biomarkers and plaque contents. Our hypothesis is that we can identify quantitative changes in both plaque and lipid biomarkers after one year of optimized cardiovascular risk management (including treatment with lipid lowering drugs), and establish if there is any associations between these features. Because there is a well-established link between systemic inflammation and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques we will also study the relationship between LRNC and IPH as measured by qMRI versus circulating markers of inflammation. Method: Patients with known carotid stenosis are invited for a baseline visit and a 1-year follow up visit. The study visits include clinical assessment, blood tests, patient interview and magnetic resonance imaging of the carotid arteries. All participants are offered optimized cardiovascular risk management through the individual assessment by the study physicians.

Stenting is an alternative to traditional surgery in the treatment of carotid stenosis.The intra and/or postprocedural cerebral embolization remains the most frequent complication. Thanks to the systematic use of cerebral protection systems, these complications have reduced.A debate concerning which cerebral protective device should be more effective is still ongoing.