Abstract
Background and aim
There is only a limited number of major publications on the outcome of interventions for isolated popliteal artery stenosis. The purpose of this study was to report our ...results on mid-term patency and predictors of restenosis.
Patients and methods
This single-center retrospective study included 61 symptomatic patients (males,
N
= 33; median age, 65.1 years IQR, 60.7–71.9 years; Rutherford grade 4–6,
N
= 14) with at least two patent crural arteries, whose atherosclerotic stenoses/occlusions were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or stenting (using self-expanding bare-metal Astron Pulsar stents) between 2011 and 2018.
Results
Twenty-six patients had PTA, while 35 underwent stenting. The median follow-up was 29 months (IQR, 10–47 months). The primary patency rates were not significantly different (
P
= 0.629) between PTA and stenting groups. Restenosis developed in nine patients (34.6%) in the PTA group, and in 12 (34.3%) in the stenting group. Restenotic lesions required re-intervention in nine cases (100%) in the PTA group, and in eight (66.7%) in the stenting group. Restenosis developed significantly less frequently (
P
= 0.010) in patients with a popliteal/P1 stent; the primary patency rates were also significantly better (
P
= 0.018) in patients with a popliteal/P1 stent when compared to popliteal/P2 plus multi-segment stents. Cox regression analysis identified lesion location as a predictor of in-stent restenosis (HR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2–5.5;
P
= 0.019).
Conclusion
Stenting was not superior when compared to PTA (if selective stenting was not considered as loss of patency). Follow-up should be more thorough in patients undergoing popliteal/P2 or multi-segment stenting.
Complement activation plays an important role in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. The objective of the present study was to detect the presence and mechanism of complement activation in patients ...who underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA).
Complement activation products C1rsC1-inhibitor, C4d, C3a and SC5b-9 and concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in samples serially taken from 16 patients with eversion CEA and 10 with carotid artery stenting (CAS) in the first 24
h post-surgery/intervention.
MBL2 genotypes were also determined.
In patients with CEA an intense increase in C3a levels were observed immediately after surgery (
p
<
0.001), accompanied by a slight elevation in SC5b-9 levels (
p
<
0.05). C3a levels remained elevated until 4
h post-surgery, compared with the baseline values and with CAS patients. Peak C3a levels correlated with the time of carotid clamping (
r
=
0.5921,
p
=
0.02). No significant changes were detected in C1rsC1-inhibitor or C4d levels following CEA, and we found no association between the generation of C3a and
MBL2 genotypes or CRP levels. Complement activation was not present in patients with CAS.
Early complement activation follows CEA and correlates with the time of I/R injury. The lack of C4d generation suggests the role of the alternative and not the lectin pathway in the process.
Carotid stenting is a minimally invasive treatment for extracranial carotid artery stenosis. Stent design may affect technical success and complications in a certain subgroup of patients. We examined ...the wall adaptability of a new closed-cell carotid stent (NexStent), which has a unique rolled sheet design. Forty-one patients had 42 carotid arteries treated with angioplasty and stenting for internal carotid artery stenosis. The mean patient age was 65 ± 10 years. All patients underwent high-resolution computed tomographic angiography after the stent implantation. Data analysis included pre- and postprocedural stenosis, procedure complications, plaque calcification, and stent apposition. We reviewed the angiographic and computed tomographic images for plaque coverage and stent expansion. All procedures were technically successful. Mean stenosis was reduced from 84 ± 8% before the procedure to 15.7 ± 7% after stenting. Two patients experienced transient ischemic attack; one patient had bradycardia and hypotension. Stent induced kinking was observed in one case. Good plaque coverage and proper overlapping of the rolled sheet was achieved in all cases. There was weak correlation between the residual stenosis and the amount of calcification. The stent provides adequate expansion and adaptation to the tapering anatomy of the bifurcation.
Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is thought to influence the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease by decreasing the risk of advanced atherosclerosis and by contributing to enhanced ischemia ...reperfusion injury. Thus, we investigated the role of MBL in restenosis after eversion endarterectomy in patients with severe carotid atherosclerosis.
In a prospective study, 123 patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy were followed-up by carotid duplex scan (CDS) sonography for 14 months. In a retrospective study, we examined 17 patients and 29 patients, respectively, who had or had not at least 50% restenosis 29 months after carotid eversion endarterectomy. MBL genotypes were analyzed by a polymerase chain reaction-based method, and MBL serum concentrations were measured.
In the prospective study in the patients homozygous for the normal MBL genotype, CDS values were significantly higher after 14 months of follow-up compared with the values measured 6 weeks after surgery (P<0.001). In contrast, only a slight increase was registered in patients carrying MBL variant alleles. The differences were much more pronounced in female than in male patients. Similar differences were observed when patients with high and low MBL serum concentrations were compared. In the retrospective study, a significant increase in the frequency of MBL variant genotypes was observed in patients not experiencing restenosis compared with the patients with restenosis (P=0.007).
These results indicate that reoccurrence of stenosis after carotid endarterectomy is partially genetically determined and imply that MBL contributes significantly to the pathophysiology of this condition.
Ferumoxytol, an ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particle, has been suggested as a potential alternative MRI contrast agent in patients with renal failure. We compared ferumoxytol to ...gadoteridol enhancement on T1- and T2-weighted MRI in CNS disorders to explore its diagnostic utility.
Data were collected from three protocols in 70 adults who underwent alternate-day gadoteridol- and ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI using identical parameters. Two neuroradiologists measured lesion-enhancing size and intensity on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in consensus. T2-weighted images were evaluated for the presence of contrast-enhanced hypointensity. Mixed model repeated measures analysis of variance determined differences between T1-weighted enhancement size and intensity for individual protocols and group.
After exclusions, 49 MRI studies in 29 men and 20 women (mean age, 51 years) were assessed. T1-weighted estimated enhancing sizes were different between agents (p = 0.0456) as a group; however, no differences were observed with untreated gliomas (n = 17) in two protocols (p = 1.0 and p = 0.99, respectively). Differences in T1-weighted enhancement intensity between agents were significant for the group overall (p = 0.0006); however, three-way interactions were not significant (p = 0.1233). T2-weighted images were assessed for contrast-enhanced hypointensity, observed in 26 of 49 (53%) ferumoxytol and zero of 49 (0%) gadoteridol scans.
Ferumoxytol may be a useful MRI contrast agent in patients who are unable to receive gadolinium-based contrast agents. Greater experience with a wider variety of disorders is necessary to understand differences in enhancement with ferumoxytol compared with gadolinium-based contrast agents, given their different mechanisms of action.
Összefoglaló. A népesség öregedése, a meghatározó cardiovascularis rizikótényezők - mint a cukorbetegség - egyre nagyobb arányú előfordulása, a csökkenő akut cardiovascularis halálozás az alsó ...végtagi verőérszűkület növekvő megjelenésével jár. Ezzel együtt szaporodnak a beavatkozást igénylő, jelentős életminőség-romlást, illetve végtag-veszélyeztetettséget okozó, súlyosabb esetek. Ilyenkor az alsó végtagi revascularisatio szüksége merül fel, ami az utóbbi évtizedben az endovascularis beavatkozások számának növekedéséhez vezetett. A beavatkozások technikai sikere mellett újabb szűkületek, elzáródások veszélyével kell számolni. Ennek hátterében az atherosclerosis progressziója mellett a beavatkozáshoz köthető, kontrollált érfalsérülés indukálta vascularis remodelling (neointima-hyperplasia), valamint thromboticus tényezők állnak. Az ér-nyitvamaradás hosszú távú biztosításának feltétele a fenti folyamatok megelőzésére alkalmazott optimális gyógyszeres kezelés. Ennek biztosítása elengedhetetlen a beavatkozást megelőzően, periprocedurálisan, majd az érintett betegkör hosszú távú gondozása során. A gyógyszeres terápiás lehetőségek közül az antithromboticus, antikoaguláns terápiának kiemelt jelentősége van. Az ezen hatású gyógyszerek alkalmazását igen nehézzé teszi (i) a thromboticus elzáródás kiújulása és a potenciális vérzés közötti dinamikusan változó egyensúly bizonytalansága, (ii) az egyéb társbetegségek kapcsán felmerülő terápiás szempontok egyidejű érvényesítése, valamint (iii) a napi ellátásban támpontot adó tudományos bizonyítékok relatív hiánya. Az összefoglaló tanulmány a fenti gyógyszerterápiás terület legújabb eredményeit kísérli meg elemezni. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(3): 98-108. Summary. The aging of the population, the increasing prevalence of important risk factors of atherosclerosis, like diabetes, and the declining mortality of acute cardiovascular conditions lead to increased peripheral arterial disease incidence. At the same time, cases showing a severe decline in quality of life or danger of limb loss get more prevalent that demands vascular interventions. In such cases, revascularization is recommended, and consequently, in the last decade, an expansion in endovascular procedures can be seen. Considering these procedures, besides a technical success, the risk of new stenosis or occlusion may be imminent. This may be accounted for the progression of atherosclerosis and the controlled vascular injury caused by the procedure itself that induces vascular remodeling (neointima hyperplasia) and thrombotic hyperactivity. The long-term vascular patency is closely associated with the success of an optimal medical treatment strategy. Its effect is considered essential prior to the endovascular procedure, perioperatively, and in the phase of long-term follow-up of the affected patients. In this scenario, antithrombotic and anticoagulant therapy regimes bear particular relevance. The use of this kind of drugs is challenged by (i) the uncertainty of dynamic changes of balance between the thrombotic reocclusion and the risk of bleeding, (ii) the interplay of treatment strategy related to concomitant diseases, (iii) the relative lack of high-level scientific pieces of evidence guiding daily routine. The narrative review makes an effort to provide new findings and an analysis of this therapeutic field. Orv Hetil. 2022; 163(3): 98-108.