Active clinical trials for "Plaque, Atherosclerotic"

Recent studies have shown that the systemic inflammation caused by periodontal disease (PD) can determine important changes in the coronary arteries, favoring atherosclerosis progression and development of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The aim of ATHERODENT study is to assess the interrelation between PD, inflammation and progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with ACS. Material and methods: This case-control observational study will enroll 100 patients (group 1 - ACS and associated PD, and group 2 -ACS and no PD), in whom the following data will be collected: (1) demographic and clinical data, (2) cardiovascular risk factors, (3) full characterization of PD markers, (4) systemic inflammatory biomarkers, (5) imaging biomarkers derived from transthoracic echocardiography, computed tomography, coronary angiography, optical coherence tomography and intravascular ultrasound, and (6) assessment of the presence of specific oral bacteria in samples of coronary plaques collected by coronary atherectomy, which will be performed during percutaneous revascularization interventions, when indicated in selected cases, in the atherectomy sub-study. The follow-up will be performed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 15, 18 and 24 months. The primary endpoint of the study will be represented by the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE rates) in PD vs non-PD patients and in correlation with: (1) the level of systemic inflammation triggered by PD and/or by ACS at baseline; (2) the vulnerability degree of atheromatous plaques in the coronary tree (culprit and non-culprit lesions); and (3) the presence and burden of oral bacteria in atheromatous plaques. Secondary endpoints will be represented by: (1) the rate of progression of vulnerability degree of non-culprit coronary plaques; (2) the rate of progression of atheromatous burden and calcium scoring of the coronary tree; and (3) the rate of occurrence of left ventricular remodeling and postinfarction heart failure.

The role of methylase system and Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) in the accelerated atherosclerotic progression of diabetic patients is unclear. Authors will evaluate methylase activity and PCSK9 in carotid plaques of asymptomatic diabetic and non diabetic patients, as well as the effect of statin added to PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) therapy vs. statin alone in diabetic plaques. Plaques will be obtained from 43 type 2 diabetic and 30 non diabetic patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Diabetic patients will receive statin therapy (n 23) or statin plus PCSK9i (140 mg of evolocumab; n 20) or placebo (n 23) for 4 months before scheduled endarterectomy. Plaques will be analyzed for macrophages (CD68), T-cells (CD3), inflammatory cells (HLADR), methylase activity, nuclear factor (NF)-KB, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, nitrotyrosine, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and collagen content (immunohistochemistry and enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay. Authors' study hypothesis is that methylase and PCSK9 over-activity will be associated with enhanced inflammatory reaction and NF-KB expression in diabetic plaques. Secondly, the inhibition of methylase activity in atherosclerotic lesions of diabetic patients by metformin plus SLGT2i might be associated with morphological and compositional characteristics of a potential stable plaque phenotype, possibly by down regulating NF-KB-mediated inflammatory pathways.

Air pollution, microplastics and climate change pose serious public health risks. In recent years, air pollution has been associated with an increased risk of morbidity, all-cause mortality, cardio-respiratory-related mortality, and cancer. A growing body of evidence has recently confirmed a direct association between particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 mm (PM2.5), Ozone (O3) and aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons with all-cause mortality irrespective of social context and geographic or economic disparities, suggesting a causal relationship between the two factors. The effects of air and environmental pollutants on public health have been observed also for short-term exposure to rapid increases in particulate matter. High PM 2.5 values have also been associated with a higher rate of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease expressed by high calcium score values, with the elderly, male and diabetic patients being at greater risk. To date, however, the pathophysiological basis of the relationship between air pollutants, and long-term events remains speculative, and there is no evidence that can correlate the concentration of environmental pollutants directly with anatomical-pathological and/or biomolecular alterations. In this study the investigators will assess the presence and the burden of pollutants within the carotid plaques from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy with pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and electronic microscopy. Plaque stability will be explored trough molecular markers. Participants will be followed up for a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and all-cause mortality to evaluate whether the presence and the abundance of pollutants are associated with the development of the outcome through adjusted Cox regressions.

A new way of scanning narrowing in the arteries (main blood vessels) caused by fatty deposits known as plaques has been developed. Heart attacks and strokes occur when plaques become inflamed, depending on the artery affected. Currently used clinical tests can only tell us how much the vessel is blocked by the plaque and not how inflamed (i.e. dangerous) it is. This new method of scanning using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a special agent called Sinerim can identify inflamed plaques. This study will evaluate patients with plaques in their arteries in their neck at risk of strokes to see whether treatment with a cholesterol-lowering drug called atorvastatin can reduce the amount of inflammation within the artery wall within the first three months of treatment. If this effect can be measured using MRI scanning with the use of Sinerim then the results of this study will provide additional clinical validation of the use of MRI scanning combined with agents such as Sinerem®.

Approximately 50% of coronary events occur in previously asymptomatic patients. Thus, the early detection of the individuals at higher risk became an important research target within the current cardiology. The various clinical scores used present a predictive accuracy for ischemic events, evaluated by the ROC curve, which ranges from 0.73 to 0, 79. Therefore, the introduction of new non-invasive techniques for the detection of atherosclerosis aims to allow a more adequate classification of risk. The development of radiological techniques, fundamentally coronary angiotomography of multiple detectors (CAMD) and electron beam computed tomography-EBCT‖, demonstrated that the degree of coronary calcification correlates with endothelial lesion and individual prognosis in the long term. Notably, the calcium score has a weak correlation with the severity of coronary stenosis per se, possibly due to variations in arterial remodeling due to coronary calcification. On the other hand, the CAMD allows the detection of a small magnitude atheromatous disease, not diagnosed clinically, nor by tests provoking ischemia, or even by coronary catheterization. The clinical relevance of the small magnitude atheromatous disease diagnosed by the ACMD and its correlation with plaque vulnerability markers, mainly platelet aggregation, vascular reactivity, and inflammation are still not well determined. This is a case and control study and we will enrolled 90 patients with low and medium risk of cardiovascular event whose cases should present discrete plaques in the CAMD e controls should present none plaque in coronary stenosis

• The aim of the VIP study is to investigate the impact of vulnerability markers (inflammatory serum biomarkers for systemic vulnerability, coronary shear stress and vulnerability mapping for pancoronary vulnerability, and imaging-based plaque features for systemic vulnerability) on the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events caused by progression of the non-culprit lesion in patients with acute ST or non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction who undergo revascularization of the culprit lesion during the acute event. Furthermore, the study will evaluate the rate of progression of non-culprit lesions towards a higher degree of vulnerability, based on coronary computed tomography angiographic assessment at 1 year after enrollment.

The presence of chronic blockage of coronary arteries, which we may accept as the terminal point of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, is closely associated with a poor prognosis. The Discovery of markers that may distinguish patients with a high risk of chronic total occlusion development among patients monitored with the diagnosis of stable coronary artery disease may be important for being able to reduce the increased mortality and morbidity rates. Oxidative stress status may be one of the markers that play a role in and/or show the development of chronic total occlusion. It was reported that it has a role in the progression, erosion, and instability of atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship between chronic total occlusion development and oxidative stress status in stable coronary artery disease has not been studied. This study investigated the relationships in the oxidative stress status evaluated over TAS, TOS, OSI, Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis, and antioxidative vitamin levels and possible differences in patients with noncritical coronary artery disease and those with chronic total occlusion.

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of directional atherectomy with antirestenotic therapy (DAART technique) and angioplasty/Supera stenting for the treatment of popliteal atherectomy lesions.

Aortic atheroma has been correlated with traditional cardiac risk factors, coronary, carotid, renal and peripheral atherosclerosis, and is probably a manifestation of generalized atherosclerosis. Aortic atheroma has also been shown to be associated with atrial fibrillation, aortic valve sclerosis, and other calcification of the fibrous skeleton of the heart. None of the previous studies have looked at the noninvasive prediction of aortic atheroma using the history and physical signs of cardiovascular disease. This would be a time and cost-effective bedside diagnostic tool that would be useful prior to cardiac surgery, cardiac catheterization, and workup of ischemic stroke patients, especially when transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is being considered for diagnosis but cannot be obtained due to previously mentioned reasons. Although physical examination of peripheral vascular disease is non-specific, a combination of physical examination signs increases the probability of generalized atherosclerosis.

The aim of GEOMETRY study is to investigate the correlation between coronary plaque geometric modifications and lesion vulnerability in patients with suspected coronary artery disease referred for cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Furthermore the study will evaluate the impact of plaque eccentricity and morphology on the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) for a 2 years follow-up period.