Design and application of biodegradable coronary stents:what will be brought by further innovations in materials science? / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:With the social and economic development and aging, coronary heart disease has become the primary cause of death endangering human life and health, while cardiovascular intervention (especial y stenting) in the treatment of cardiovascular disease is at a growing status. OBJECTIVE:To describe the development, research progress and latest clinical application of heart interventional materials as wel as advantages and disadvantages of biodegradable stents, and meanwhile to prospect for its future development and improvement. METHODS:A computer-based online search was conducted in PubMed for English language publications from January 1999 to April 2014 using the key words of“stent, scaffold, bioabsorbable, bioresorbable, biodegradable, biocompatibility, material properties”in English. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The new ful y biodegradable stents are considered as another major progress in the cardiac intervention, which brings a new gospel for patients with coronary heart disease. In the initial stage of implantation, biodegradable stents exhibit the same mechanical support as bare metal stents;after implantation, anti-proliferative drugs are released to prevent thrombosis and restenosis, and the stent is completely degraded within a specified period, which significantly reduces the late-stage and very late-stage thrombosis and the risk of in-stent restenosis. However, long-term safety and efficacy of biodegradable stents need further studies. Innovation of stent design and materials science is the key to overcome the current shortcomings of biodegradable stents.