View clinical trials related to Atherosclerotic Plaque.
Filter by:The goal of this observational study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of peripheral whole blood transcriptomes analyzed by an artificial intelligence algorithm to detect the presence and extent of coronary calcification in individuals without a history of known cardiovascular disease. The main question it aims to answer is: 1. Will the proposed method predict the presence and extent of coronary artery calcification from the peripheral whole-blood transcriptomes?
Patients will undergo intracoronary imaging using combined optical coherence tomography-fluorescence lifetime imaging (OCT-FLIm) during percutaneous coronary intervention, and the obtained imaging data will be used to assess the efficacy of this dual-modal catheter imaging strategy in characterizing high-risk plaque.
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.
The 'Long-term Follow-up Near-infrared Spectroscopy and Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging of Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis Treated With Stenting' trial is an academic research project. It follows already published results of a research on carotid plaque composition in patients undergoing carotid stenting. Patients who were treated with carotid stenting will be invited to participate on the trial. The written informed consent will be needed. The participants will undergo carotid angiography, intravascular near-infrared spectroscopy and intravascular ultrasound of the extracranial portion of the internal and common carotid artery with implanted stent. The aim of the trial is to describe long-term change of the luminal and stent dimensions, vessel wall remodeling and plaque composition after carotid stenting. The findings will help to understand the long-term effect of carotid stenting on the carotid stenosis and mechanisms of plaque stabilization - sealing with stent.
This study evaluated optimal macrophage diagnosis algorithm through comparative analysis between coronary artery, OCT image, and IVUS, and improve a diagnosis rate of vulnerable coronary plaque accompanied with macrophage infiltration.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether 18F-NaF (sodium fluoride) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans can be used to identify ruptured and high-risk plaque as compared to non-invasive coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) scans and high-definition intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). In subsets of patients, 18F-NaF PET scans and CCTA will be repeated to assess scan-rescan reproducibility.
This will be a pilot study of 9 patients undergoing standard-of-care clinically indicated carotid endarterectomy. The nine patients will receive an injection of Indocyanine green (ICG) at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg (maximum 25 mg) as an intravenous bolus. Immediately following endarterectomy, the resected specimen will be immersed in normal saline. Ex vivo fluorescence reflectance imaging (FRI) and immunohistochemistry will be performed. The investigators hypothesize that compared to controls, ICG-injected patients will demonstrate increased ex vivo and microscopic ICG fluorescence signal within areas of plaque.