View clinical trials related to Plaque, Atherosclerotic.
Filter by:This is a multicenter, randomized, open label study with blinded outcome assessment to evaluate the impact of additional/intensive LDL-cholesterol reduction with evolocumab on carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques in higher risk subjects with severe asymptomatic but vulnerable plaques.
Extensive arterial occlusion significantly reduces arterial perfusion, and may eventually lead to Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). The pathology gives rise to symptoms such as ischemic pain, slow healing wounds at lower extremity and gangrene. It places patients with multi-segment occlusion at high risks of amputations and mortality. The treatment methods for such long occlusive lesions are limited. Traditionally, the standard of care would be surgical revascularization. This is because lesion length have been identified in several studies as an independent risk factor for the development of restenosis after angioplasty and/or stenting. However, thanks to recent advances in endovascular techniques, such as the utilization of subintimal technique for crossing long segment occlusions, it is now possible to employ endovascular techniques for suitable patients.The re-establishment of an in-line flow, even if only temporary, can allow tissue healing, which is vital in achieving limb salvage. In addition, the use of Drug Coated Balloons (DCB) can potentially reduce restenosis rate, as Sirolimus have an anti-proliferative effect. To date, there are few studies that have evaluated the performance of DCB in lesions that are longer than 10cm. The investigators hope to evaluate the performance of the Selution DCB when used in treatment of such lesions
The aim of the PVCFD trial is to predict vulnerable plaque confirmed by OCT using coronary CT angiography and computational fluid dynamics in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the Western world and the leading cause of major lifelong disability. About 15% of strokes are secondary to thrombosis or embolization of an unstable atheromatous carotid plaque. In these symptomatic patients, the degree of carotid stenosis is correlated with the risk of early recurrence. Patients with stenosis over 70% are therefore offered an endarterectomy, an operation to remove carotid plaque, to prevent future strokes[1]. In asymptomatic patients, the degree of stenosis is a limited predictor, and better risk stratification is required to assess the degree of plaque vulnerability and stroke risk of the patient. The therapeutic decision towards endarterectomy in addition to drug therapy is debated because of a variable and dependent benefit/risk balance for each patient. A number of imaging parameters have been studied: ulceration, heterogeneity, vascularization of the plaque for example, but their place is not well defined [2]. The usual evaluation of carotid stenosis is by conventional Doppler ultrasound with calculation of the degree of stenosis according to the NASCET criteria. For symptomatic stenoses the intervention is recommended when above 70% and is discussed from 50% to 70% of NASCET stenosis degree. For asymptomatic stenoses, the procedure is discussed when above 60% taking into account the patient's life expectancy, the risk of the surgery and the unstable nature of the plaque [2]. Destabilization of the carotid plaque is partially induced by inflammation associated with neo-vascularization. The detection of these new vessels by conventional contrast ultrasound has already shown a distinction between stable and unstable plaques, by the presence or absence of microbubbles in the plaque. However, this assessment is not very precise and only the most vascularized plaques can be detected. Ultrafast ultrasound Imaging is a new ultrasonic Imaging modality that allows detecting low speed flows, a tiny vascular structure within the vessel wall. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Plaques neo-vascularization would be more precisely detected and characterized by ultrafast imaging coupled with microbubble injection than conventional ultrasound imaging. A better assessment of plaque instability could improve the selection of patients for carotid endarterectomy and increase the benefit/risk ratio of this preventive surgery.
In this study, investigators plan to test whether Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) treatment leads to an accelerated progression of atherosclerosis in patients with lung cancer. Atherosclerosis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease and these same checkpoints being targeted for cancer are critical negative regulators of atherosclerosis in animal and cellular models. Aortic plaque progression will be compared between cases (on ICI) and controls from pre-ICI to post-ICI among patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Groups will be matched for age, cancer type and stage and cardiovascular risk factors. Traditional markers of cardiovascular (CVD) risk and cancer-specific factors (ICI mono- and combination therapy, number of cycles, occurrence of immune-related adverse events, chest radiation, steroid use) will be associated with the change in aortic plaque volume.
Compelling evidences indicate that lipid-lowering therapy can reduce the high-risk plaque feathers and improve the coronary flow reserve. This study is going to investigate the change of lesion-specific hemodynamic significance as determined by ML(Machine Learning)-based CT-FFR (Computed Tomography-Fractional Flow Reserve)after Evolocumab treatment.
Evaluation of reduced radiation dose iterative reconstruction reconstructions for calcium scoring compared to full dose filtered back projection reconstructions
Stroke is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Stenotic carotid arteries can lead to stroke if the cause of the stenosis is a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Recent studies reveal that if a patient has a plaque in the carotid artery it is highly probable that he/she will develop plaques in other superficial arteries like the femoral artery. Currently, duplex ultrasound is used to determine the grade of stenosis and is the main criterion for intervention (endarterectomy) planning. However, the stability, or instability of the plaque cannot be determined non-invasively. Photoacoustics is a novel, non-invasive imaging modality that uses pulsed laser light to generate laser induced ultrasound in the absorbing region of the tissue. Photoacoustic imaging provides optical contrast of biological tissue chromophores with an acoustic resolution and imaging depth, which is promising for visualization of plaque composition. The advantage of photoacoustics is the use of multiple wavelengths, since different tissues respond differently to different wavelengths. Hence, non-invasive, in vivo, morphology assessment is a future application of this new modality that would improve diagnosis and clinical decision making. The drawback is the limited penetration depth of the laser light and the signals generated by surrounding tissue. A new, integrated photoacoustic device has been developed that meets all safety requirements and has an improved penetration depth, suitable for imaging of carotid arteries with the aim to distinguish between plaques with different morphology.
Imaging the inside of coronary arteries (intravascular imaging) offers great insight into the assessment and treatment of coronary artery disease. Over time, substances such as fat, cholesterol and calcium can build up into 'plaques' in the arteries, causing narrowings or even blockages. These plaques can also rupture, causing cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. By using ultrasound and infrared technology, intravascular imaging can help assess these plaques, however this is an invasive technique involving angiography. Plaque composition, structure and stability can be affected by inflammation and the stress that the arteries are under. The investigators have pioneered novel minimally-invasive methods for modelling arterial stress using computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), as well as imaging coronary arterial inflammation using a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Before embarking upon a large-scale clinical outcome study to determine whether these novel methods can improve risk prediction, the aim is to perform a proof-of-principle study to further develop our methodology for hybrid image analysis, and to validate this technique against high-resolution intravascular imaging as a surrogate marker of histology.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential association of coronary artery geometry, based on coronary CT angiography (CCTA), with the complexity and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.