Active clinical trials for "Plaque, Atherosclerotic"

In this proposal, the investigators will demonstrate the feasibility and noninferiority of telerobotic ultrasonography as compared to traditional manual acquisition in performing a limited carotid Duplex examination and in carotid plaque detection.

Compelling evidences indicate that lipid-lowering therapy can reduce the high-risk plaque feathers and improve the coronary flow reserve. This study is going to investigate the change of lesion-specific hemodynamic significance as determined by ML(Machine Learning)-based CT-FFR (Computed Tomography-Fractional Flow Reserve)after Evolocumab treatment.

Dysbetalipoproteinemia (type III, Fredrickson's classification) is a rare metabolic disorder. It results from a defect in the clearance of VLDL and chylomicron remnants due to homozygous APOE2 variants or heterozygous APOE mutations, and there is an elevated plasma cholesterol and triglycerides. As a consequence of the derangements in lipoprotein metabolism, dysbetalipoproteinemia predispose to the premature development of atherosclerosis. However among this population there is heterogeneity in development of cardiovascular complications and the determinants remain unclear actually. The aim of the investigators study is to evaluate the intensity of clinical atherosclerosis, and identify its determinants.

Lipid-rich atherosclerotic plaques, or "vulnerable plaques" are prone to rupture, causing local intravascular thrombosis, with subsequent grave clinical consequences. Atherosclerotic plaques normally removed during surgery, and peripheral blood samples will be studied to achieve the following objectives: "1" Define histological features of the vulnerable plaque, analyze its physical characteristics, and investigate selected gene expression. "2" Study biomarkers of inflammation in conjunction with the presence of vulnerable plaques. "3" Explore the potential role of infection in atherogenesis.

This is a single-centre prospective trial with 140 patients employing [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) and advance motion correction and image fusion algorithms to create motion frozen displays and quantify FDG-uptake and thus inflammatory activity in atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary tree. Four groups of patients, two with stable coronary artery disease and two with acute coronary syndrome will be compared and the results of FDG PET/CT will be correlated to results of invasive coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound / virtual histology, patient risk profile and serum markers of inflammation. The investigators hypothesize that increased FDG accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques shows a positive correlation with inflammatory activity in coronary plaques and markers of plaque vulnerability as well as the risk profile of the patients and serum markers of inflammation. The investigators furthermore hypothesize that FDG PET/CT is able to detect high risk patients and provide an important means for risk stratification and optimization of patient management.

The aim of this study is to establish a deep learning model to automatically detect the presence and scoring of carotid plaques in neck CTA images, and to determine whether this model is compatible with manual interpretations.

The objective of the research, is to examine the hypothesis, that the enzyme paraoxygenase 1 ( PON1) can influence carotid artery's atherosclerotic plaque content and stability, and its relation to plasma's enzyme concentration.

The aim of the PVCFD trial is to predict vulnerable plaque confirmed by OCT using coronary CT angiography and computational fluid dynamics in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Imaging the inside of coronary arteries (intravascular imaging) offers great insight into the assessment and treatment of coronary artery disease. Over time, substances such as fat, cholesterol and calcium can build up into 'plaques' in the arteries, causing narrowings or even blockages. These plaques can also rupture, causing cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. By using ultrasound and infrared technology, intravascular imaging can help assess these plaques, however this is an invasive technique involving angiography. Plaque composition, structure and stability can be affected by inflammation and the stress that the arteries are under. The investigators have pioneered novel minimally-invasive methods for modelling arterial stress using computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), as well as imaging coronary arterial inflammation using a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Before embarking upon a large-scale clinical outcome study to determine whether these novel methods can improve risk prediction, the aim is to perform a proof-of-principle study to further develop our methodology for hybrid image analysis, and to validate this technique against high-resolution intravascular imaging as a surrogate marker of histology.

To assess the feasibility of CT-derived computed fractional flow reserve (FFRCT), wall shear stress and total plaque force on coronary atherosclerotic plaque and to collect the preliminary data to apply those parameters for the prediction of clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery stenosis.