Treatment of patients with aortic atherosclerotic disease with paclitaxel-associated lipid nanoparticles

OBJECTIVE: The toxicity of anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents can be reduced by associating these compounds, such as the anti-proliferative agent paclitaxel, with a cholesterol-rich nanoemulsion (LDE) that mimics the lipid composition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). When injected into circulation, the LDE concentrates the carried drugs in neoplastic tissues and atherosclerotic lesions. In rabbits, atherosclerotic lesion size was reduced by 65% following LDE-paclitaxel treatment. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of LDE-paclitaxel on inpatients with aortic atherosclerosis. METHODS: This study tested a 175 mg/m2 body surface area dose of LDE-paclitaxel (intravenous administration, 3/3 weeks for 6 cycles) in patients with aortic atherosclerosis who were aged between 69 and 86 yrs. A control group of 9 untreated patients with aortic atherosclerosis (72-83 yrs) was also observed. RESULTS: The LDE-paclitaxel treatment elicited no important clinical or laboratory toxicities. Images were acquired via multiple detector computer tomography angiography (64-slice scanner) before treatment and at 1-2 months after treatment. The images showed that the mean plaque volume in the aortic artery wall was reduced in 4 of the 8 patients, while in 3 patients it remained unchanged and in one patient it increased. In the control group, images were acquired twice with an interval of 6-8 months. None of the patients in this group exhibited a reduction in plaque volume; in contrast, the plaque volume increased in three patients and remained stable in four patients. During the study period, one death unrelated to the treatment occurred in the LDE-paclitaxel group and one death occurred in the control group. CONCLUSION: Treatment with LDE-paclitaxel was tolerated by patients with cardiovascular disease and showed the potential to reduce atherosclerotic lesion size.

Criteria for detecting significant chronic iliacvenous obstructions with duplex ultrasound

The purpose of this study was to determine thesonographic criteria for diagnosis of iliac venous out flow obstruction by assessing the correlation of this method with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in patients with advanced chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). The evaluation included 15 patients (30 limbs; age,49.4 % 10.7 years; 1 man) with initial CVI symptoms (Clinicalclass, Etiology, Anatomy, and Pathophysiology [CEAP]classification, CEAP1-2) in group I (GI) and 51 patients (102limbs; age, 50.53 % 14.5 years; 6 men) with advanced CVI symptoms (CEAP3-6) in group II (GII). Patients from bothgroups were matched by gender, age, and race. The Venous Clinical Severity Score was considered. All patients underwent structured interviews and duplex ultrasound (DU) examination, measuring the flow phasicity, the femoral volume flowsand velocities, and the velocity and obstruction ratios in the iliac vein. The reflux multisegment score was analyzed in bothgroups. Three independent observers evaluated individuals inGI. GII patients were submitted to IVUS, in which the area ofthe impaired venous segments was obtained and comparedwith the DU results and then grouped into three categories: obstructions <50%, obstructions between 50% and 79%, andobstructions...

Lack of neointimal proliferation after implantation of sirolimus-coated stents in human coronary arteries

Background- Restenosis remains an important limitation of interventional cardiology. Therefore, we aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of sirolimus (a cell-cycle inhibitor) coated BX velocity stents. Methdo and Results- Thirty patients with angina pectoris were electively treated with 2 different formulations of sirolimus coated stents (slow release [SR], n=15, and fast release [FR], n=15). All stents were successfully delivered, and patients were discharged without clinical complications. Independent core laboratories analized angiographic and 3D volumetric intravascular ultrasound data (immediatlly after procedure and at 4-month follow-up). Eigth month clinical follow-up was obtained for all patients...

Métodos de avaliação da circulação pulmonar / Diagnosthic methods of pulmonary circulation

No contexto desta revisão sobre hipertensão pulmonar o presente artigo aborda o papel dos diferentes exames utilizados para avaliação anatômica e funcional da circulação pulmonar, com realce para os baseados em imageamento com diversos métodos.