View clinical trials related to Atherosclerosis.
Filter by:The long-term goal of the proposed research is to identify and develop effective interventions to decrease persistent, low-level inflammation and risk of CVD. Stress is a substantial contributor to inflammation, and interactions among stress, inflammation, body mass index, and health behaviors have been measured. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is effective for stress reduction, has been shown to be effective for inflammation reduction in individuals with disease, and is a sustainable practice for individuals across the health spectrum. Diet strategies are an effective means of reducing inflammation for some individuals, but may not be successful for many people, as evidenced by the steady rise in obesity rates. The specific aims of this study are to 1) test the effectiveness of MBSR compared to an established intervention of a nutrition enhancement (NE) intervention for the reduction of inflammation, and 2) test the effectiveness of MBSR compared to a non-intervention control conditions (CON) for the reduction of inflammation. Men and women 25-45 years of age will be randomly assigned to participate in MBSR (n=60) or DIET (n=60) or CON (n=60) interventions for 16 weeks. Serum CRP concentrations, additional inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin-6), cortisol diurnal profiles, anthropometrics, dietary intake, and all components of the metabolic syndrome will be measured pre- and post-intervention to elucidate underlying mechanisms and to determine whether health benefits beyond inflammation reduction occur.
This is a technical development study with the goal to develop 3D techniques for atherosclerosis plaque characterization. We hypothesize that 3D MRI is superior to 2D MRI in characterizing major plaque constituents that contribute to severe clinical events such as myocardial infarction or stroke. The major advantages of the 3D techniques to be developed will include high spatial resolution, reduced scan times, and optimized image contrast. The use of contrast injection is not needed with the new techniques, which is greatly beneficial for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.This is not a funded clinical trial.
Investigators will be determining whether a once weekly injectable medication Bydureon versus placebo is able to reduce the development of atherosclerosis. Investigators are testing the overall hypothesis that 18 months of Bydureon treatment will improve cardiovascular risk factors, endothelial function and retard carotid atherosclerosis plaque progression in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Investigators anticipate these studies will provide novel information about the temporal relationship between Bydureon induced changes in risk factors, endothelial function and atherosclerosis progression.
The purpose of this trial is to assess the effects of colchicine on vascular inflammation measured by (FDG)-PET imaging in patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease. This effect will also be measured by soluble plasma biomarkers. Finally, an optional pharmacogenomic investigation will be performed to identify genetic biomarkers of patient response.
The risk of developing clinical manifestations of ischemic heart disease is currently assessed by using integrated multifactorial prediction models based on the presence of non-modifiable risk factors, such as age, gender and a family history of early ischemic heart disease along with risk factors which are defined as conventional, such as arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus. However, if the relationship between risk factors and ischemic heart disease clinical manifestations shows some limitations, the relation between risk factors and the coronary atherosclerosis process underlying most ischemic syndromes seems to be even weaker. In fact there is significant individual variability and the limits of such relationship are demonstrated by a non negligible number of subjects at the outliers of mean behaviour of the prediction model. At one outlier, in the presence of multiple risk factors, these subjects do not develop neither coronary events nor coronary atherosclerosis whereas, at the other, coronary events and disease occur in the absence of risk factors.This study aims at detecting new protection and susceptibility factors, thus enabling to formulate new etiopathogenetic hypotheses concerning coronary atherosclerosis and to identify new therapeutic targets.
The primary objective of this study is determine the safety and performance of the Agent™ Paclitaxel-Coated PTCA Balloon Catheter compared to the SeQuent® Please Paclitaxel-Releasing Coronary Balloon Catheter for the treatment of patients with narrowed previously-stented coronary arteries (in-stent restenosis). The performance will be determined at six months post-procedure by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) to measure Late Lumen Loss (LLL) in the re-opened stented segment. QCA results will be assessed by an independent, blinded angiographic core lab. Study statistical hypothesis: The loss of in-stent luminal diameter at six months after treatment of the restenosed stent with the Agent™ study device is not larger than the respective LLL after treatment with the SeQuent® Please control devices, i.e. study device is non-inferior to the control device with respect to LLL.
The investigators will study Radial artery injury and endothelial function following trans-radial cardiac catheterisation. Radial artery injury will be quantified pre- and post- angiography using Optical Coherence Tomography. The participants will also have radial endothelial function assessed using flow-mediated dilatation at baseline, 24 hours, one week, one month and three months post- angiography. Blood will be taken pre and 24 hours post angiography for characterisation of endothelial progenitor cell numbers and function. The hypothesis is that trans-radial catheterisation will cause a reduction in flow-mediated dilatation which peaks at 24 hours and recovers at three months. The investigators hope to correlate the rate of this recovery with peri-procedural progenitor cell numbers.
The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of the drug Ranolazine compared to Placebo on symptoms of chest pain or chest tightness (known as angina), exercise endurance and ability, and changes in blood flow to the very small arteries of the heart (known as coronary microvascular function) in patients who do not have significant blockages in their major heart arteries. Ranolazine is a drug that is already approved by the FDA for angina, but it may be particularly effective in people with disease in their tiny heart vessels (known as coronary microvascular disease). This trial aims to enroll 50 patients with angina who undergo baseline bicycle exercise testing with monitoring of the heart's electrical activity and oxygen consumption (known as cardiopulmonary exercise test) and coronary angiogram (taking pictures of the heart arteries through small hollow tubes placed through the wrist or groin). If severe blockages in the main arteries are not found then testing for coronary microvascular function will be performed. Subsequently, participants will then be randomized 50/50 to either Ranolazine or Placebo. After taking the study drug for 12 weeks, they will then repeat the cardiopulmonary exercise test and the coronary angiogram with testing for microvascular function.
Since finishing the sequencing of the human genome in 2003, genetic research in coronary artery disease (CAD) and other complex traits have developed dramatically. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified a considerable number of common genetic variants each associated with the disease. This has led to a new understanding but also to the discovery of new therapeutical targets. However, each of the variants discovered only have minor effects on disease development and even the pooling of the variants only explains a minor percentage of the total heritability. It has been evident that rare or private mutations probably play a great role in the genetic architecture of CAD, especially among young and severely affected patients. These may only be identified by sequencing. Therefore, the investigators hypothesize, that the use of exome sequencing (the read-off of the entire protein-coding regions of the genome) and linkage analysis in families of extreme phenotype cases, will identify disease-causing genetic variants. From the West Denmark Heart Registry the investigators will enroll a minimum of 120 patients with atherosclerosis who have undergone a coronary artery revascularization procedure before the age of 40, to participate in study part 1. A pedigree analysis will be performed and cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors and current preventive treatment will be evaluated. 1. degree relatives aged 30-65 years, who are free of CAD, are invited to participate in study 2. CVD risk factors are evaluated as well as a CT coronary angiogram is performed to quantify the degree of asymptomatic coronary atherosclerosis. Families from study 1 and 2, who are considered severely affected by atherosclerosis, evaluated on a basis of family size, number of affected and severity of disease, will be selected for exome sequencing. Other relevant family members will be included as well as their CVD risk factors will be evaluated. Exome sequencing will be performed and variants found will be filtered on a basis of frequency, linkage analysis, gene position, existing knowledge and in-silico prediction tools. Possible findings will be validated by Sanger-sequencing and causality of new variants will subsequently be sought to be proven by relevant experimental studies.
The investigators use MRI and/or CT to evaluate the extent, as well as, the structure, composition, and functional aspects of atherosclerotic plaques in human carotid and femoral arteries in patients scheduled to undergo an endarterectomy of the aforementioned vascular beds as part of their routine clinical care.