View clinical trials related to Atherosclerosis.
Filter by:To establish normal values by age, race, and gender of novel markers of risk in healthy subjects necessary to predict precise risk of cardiovascular disease in an individual
This study will determine the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for examining the heart or blood vessels. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of body tissues and organs. The subject lies on a table that can slide in and out of the scanner (a metal cylinder), wearing earplugs to muffle loud noises that occur during the scanning process. MRI of the heart and blood vessels, called magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), is a developing diagnostic method that permits evaluation of arteries and veins without the use of x-rays or invasive catheterization required by conventional angiography. People 18 years of age and older with known or suspected atherosclerotic disease may be eligible for this study. Participants have blood tests and MRA scanning. The MRA takes about 1.5 to 2 hours. During part of the scan, a contrast agent may be injected into a vein to brighten the images of the heart and blood vessels. Subjects are monitored with an electrocardiogram and are asked to hold their breath for about 5 to 20 seconds intermittently during the procedure. A CT scan may be done to confirm the MRA findings. CT uses x-rays to produce pictures of the heart and blood vessels. The subject lies on a bed during the scan and is given a contrast agent through a catheter inserted into a vein. Subjects are asked to hold their breath intermittently for about 5 to 20 seconds. A medicine called a beta blocker may be administered to slow the heart rate.
The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of treatment with olmesartan medoxomil, an Angiotensin Receptor Blocker, compared to placebo on the blood levels of surrogate markers of vascular inflammation for atherosclerotic disease. Patients will be randomized to receive either olmesartan medoxomil or placebo for one year.
Restenosis requiring reintervention is still a limitation of percutaneous coronary angioplasty. Despite the use of Drug eluting stent (DES), the rate of restenosis remains 7% to 16% in diabetic patients, making it a challenging problem in interventional cardiology. Still, in clinical trials, most of these attempts did not successfully limit neointimal formation after coronary stenting. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), like pioglitazone (pio) or rosiglitazone, are a novel class of oral antidiabetic agents currently used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These agents increase insulin sensitivity and, as such, have favorable effects on blood glucose levels and the lipid profile in treated patients. Beyond their metabolic action, TZDs have been shown to exhibit antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic effects in vascular cells in vitro and to limit lesion development in various animal models of arteriosclerosis. Moreover, TZDs inhibit VSMC proliferation and migration, 2 critical processes in neointimal formation after coronary stenting. Data from rodent models suggest that TZDs limit intimal proliferation after vascular injury, and in clinical studies with type 2 diabetic coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, TZDs have been shown to reduce neointimal formation as well as restenosis after coronary stent implantation. Still, it remains unclear to what extend these effects depend on the metabolic action of these drugs and what might mainly be due to the improvement in glycemic control. Recently a few reports on prevention of restenosis in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM) with the use of TZDs as been published. All of them uses BMS as endoprosthetic devices. None of these evaluated the use of TZDs in combination with DES. Aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of pioglitazone in prevention of in-stent restenosis after successful implantation of a sirolimus-eluting coronary stent for treatment of de-novo "complex" coronary vessel disease in patients with T2DM and stable coronary artery disease. Study primary end-point are late-loss at 9 months.Secondary end-point include binary restenosis MACE at 1, 9 and 12 month, stent thrombosis at 12 months.
The purpose of this trial is to study the proportion of scleroderma patients who suffer from asymptomatic coronary atherosclerosis compared to healthy controls.
The purpose of this trial is to study if aspirin and statins (lipid-lowering agents) can reduce the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
The possibility of using the new drug eluting stents (DES) technology has significantly changed the mid-term outcome of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in terms of reduced recurrence of angina. The way interventionalists accomplish their work is changing accordingly, with a strong trend to a wider use of DES and a consequent perceived patients' clinical benefit. Evidences supporting the superiority of DES in reducing ischemic recurrence after PCI compared to traditional stents (BMS) are available from randomized studies. A recent meta-analyses underlines that: DES are superior to BMS in reducing clinical recurrence of ischemia, DES and BMS offer identical results in terms of death and infarction, Rapamycin and paclitaxel DES offer similar results. The aim of our study is to perform a multicenter, randomized study to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of the oral prednisone therapy after PCI as a possible systemic alternative to currently available BMS and DES. Furthermore, the study aims at analyzing the clinical outcome of the commercially available DES in the context of an independent research and a cost-benefit comparison with BMS and oral steroids.
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®.
The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of SB-480848 with placebo in subjects with asthma.
The purpose of the study is to test whether atorvastatin (also known as Lipitor) has anti-inflammatory effects in people with no known heart disease or high cholesterol. We also are investigating whether or not genetic differences between people plays a role in the drug response.