View clinical trials related to Atherosclerosis.
Filter by:The study is a prospective-observational, explorative single-centre cohort study aimed to examine the atherosclerosis progression in coronary arteries compared to peripheral vessels (carotids, femoral arteries). Atherosclerotic alterations in peripheral vessels (IMT, plaque volume, plaque morphology) will be measured with ultrasound (IMT measurements and 3D quantitative plaque volumetry), whereas atherosclerotic alterations in coronary arteries will be tested with cardiac computertomography (CT) (coronary artery calcium score, calcium volume score, plaque morphology). A total of 55 patients without prior known established vascular diseases will be tested. Cardiac CT and ultrasonography will be performed initially. After 2 years follow-up CT and ultrasound examination will be performed to assess the changes in atherosclerotic burden. Initially and after two years plasma samples will be collected and tested for traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors. The primary endpoint of the planned study will be the correlation of the atherosclerotic progression between coronary arteries and peripheral arteries (carotids, femoral arteries). Secondary endpoints will include the correlation of atherosclerotic progression with established (hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia) and novel risk factors (hsCRP, P-selectin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CETP TaqIb polymorphism), with cardiovascular event rate, and the additional predictive value of atherosclerotic progression compared to an established risk score (SCORE Card, FRS). Also plaque morphology will be compared between coronary arteries and peripheral vessels.
The OPTICO-ACS- study program - combining for the first time in vivo characterization of the ACS-causing "culprit lesion" by intracoronary imaging technique with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and molecular analysis of immune-cells derived from the culprit coronary thrombus and biochemical analyses in patients with acute-coronary-syndrome (ACS).
The study is a prospective-observational, explorative single-centre cohort study aimed to examine the influence of hemodynamic and geometric parameters on the progression of atherosclerotic alterations in peripheral vessels (carotids, femoral artery). Atherosclerotic alterations (IMT, plaque volume) will be measured with a ultrasound (IMT measurements and 3D quantitative plaque volumetry) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Geometric parameters (e.g. carotid/femoral bifurcation angle, carotid/femoral bifurcation area) are assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and also 3D ultrasonography. A total of 100 patients with an asymmetrical plaque distribution in carotid and femoral arteries will be tested. Only patients who are already enrolled in the "Correlation of Artherosclerotic Plaque Volume and Intima Media Thickness With Soluble P-selectin" (NCT01895725) and who are tested prior for an asymmetrical plaque distribution will be included in this study. MRI will be performed once whereas ultrasound imaging will be be repeated once per year (up to five times) to assess changes in these parameters over time. Also plasma samples will be collected once yearly and tested for traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors. The primary endpoint of the planned study will be the correlation between geometrical and hemodynamic parameters as stated above and the progression of atherosclerosis as measured by plaque volume and IMT in the carotid and femoral arteries, respectively. Secondary endpoints will include the correlation of geometrical and hemodynamic parameters with established (hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia) and novel risk factors (hsCRP, P-selectin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CETP TaqIb polymorphism), with cardiovascular event rate, plaque localization, plaque morphology and the additional predictive value of geometrical parameters compared to an established risk score (SCORE card).
However, there is only very sparse information regarding the atherosclerotic burden and cardiovascular biomarkers in the early stages of type-2 diabetes, as the vast majority of studies have concerned diabetes populations with more than 5 years average diabetes age or high-risk subgroups, who at inclusion already had atherosclerotic disease manifestations. Consequently, this study aims on evaluating the occurrence of early-stage subclinical atherosclerosis in newly diagnosed type-2 diabetes with special emphasis on coronary plaque characteristics by modern imaging techniques. These findings will be compared to the functional status of various peripheral arterial segments and biomarkers in the cross-sectional part of this study. The 5-year follow-up study intends to describe relationships between these selected measures for general atherosclerotic involvement and the progression of the coronary atherosclerotic burden by contemporary techniques.
Aim 1: To determine whether therapy with Alirocumab, compared to pre-treatment, will effectively improve carotid atherosclerotic plaque characteristics by reducing Ktrans and LRNC size. To achieve this goal, we will (a) enroll 30 subjects who are intolerant to high intensity statin therapy and only able to tolerate low potency statin or low weekly dose of high potency statin and have LDL-C ≥70 mg/dl; (b) initiate alirocumab at 150mg subcutaneously injection every 2 weeks; (c) perform carotid DCE-MRI scans at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months; (d) perform quantitative analysis for vascular inflammation and plaque LRNC volume and other plaque characteristics; (e) compare vascular inflammation and LRNC volume between pre- and post-alirocumab at 3, 6 and 12 months. Aim 2: To examine associations between reductions in atherogenic lipids (LDL-C, Lp(a), non-HDL-C) and changes in atherosclerotic plaque characteristics. To achieve this goal, we will (a) perform laboratory assessments of lipids, lipoproteins and apo-lipoproteins at baseline and during the study; (b) compare lipids, lipoproteins and apo-lipoproteins levels between pre- and post-alirocumab; (c) correlate reductions in atherogenic lipids with changes atherosclerotic plaque characteristics.
The EMINENT study is a prospective, multi-center study confirming the superior effectiveness of the ELUVIA stent versus Self-Expanding Bare Nitinol Stents in the treatment of lesions in the femoropopliteal arteries.
Patients undergoing semi-elective lower extremity major amputation from complications associated with atherosclerotic limb ischemia will received intra-muscular injections of allogeneic Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the leg above and below the point of amputation to prevent ischemic wound complications after surgery and decrease the incidence of revision and further amputation. Cohort Groups 1-4 will serve as controls.
Comparison of two methods for revascularization of the superficial femoral artery: stenting of the superficial femoral artery vs. stenting of the superficial femoral artery supplemented with fasciotomy in Hunter canal in patients with steno-occlusive lesion of the femoro-popliteal segment of TASC C, D.
Endothelial dysfunction has been demonstrated to be an early marker of coronary artery disease (CAD). On the other hand, myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (MP-SPECT) is a widely used technique for evaluation of patients with suspected or known CAD. Preliminary data suggest that myocardial perfusion heterogeneity (a potential surrogate marker of endothelial dysfunction) can be assessed on conventional MP-SPECT, but its additive and independent prognostic value over the presence of myocardial ischemia remain unknown. More over, factual data demonstrate that inhalation of particulate matters and gaz (NO2, CO) from air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases in the short and long term. The role of air pollution in endothelial dysfunction has been suggested. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic value of myocardial perfusion heterogeneity assessed by a new automatized image processing method applied to routine MP-SPECT. The second purpose is to evaluate the role of air pollution exposure in pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The main hypothesis is that the presence of myocardial perfusion heterogeneity is predictive of 2-year cardiovascular events in patients referred to the Nuclear Cardiology Department for routine evaluation of known or suspected CAD. The second hypothesis is that microcirculatory coronary dysfunction is a causal link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease.
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.