The introduction and widespread use of coronary stents have been the most important advancement in the percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease since the introduction of balloon angioplasty. Coronary artery stents reduce the rate of angiographic and clinical restenosis compared to balloon angioplasty. This angiographic restenosis was further reduced with the introduction of drug-eluting stents and hence further reduction in the frequency of major adverse cardiac events. Herein we present a comprehensive and up-to-date review about the use of drug-eluting stents in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Published in The Current Problems in Cardiology (January 2006)

Methods: Seventy-six patients were randomly assigned into groups to receive primary angioplasty (n = 41) or intracoronary thrombolysis (n = 35). Based on angiography, occlusive infarct-related lesions were divided into thrombus-rich and hard plaque lesions. The outcome of the two therapies used for each lesion was compared.

Published in The Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis Vol. 12 (2005) , No. 6 315-321

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Key words: Primary angioplasty, Thrombolysis, No-reflow phenomenon, Lesion morphology

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – In the latest chapter of the saga on who will end up buying Guidant Corp., Boston Scientific Corp. said Sunday it has formalized its offer to acquire the medical device maker for about $25 billion.

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Objective: The purpose of our study was to prospectively evaluate the usefulness of CT coronary angiography versus invasive coronary angiography for the detection of clinically significant coronary artery disease in patients hospitalized for acute chest pain syndrome.

Full article via Medscape (Free regestration)

Nanocopoeia, Inc. has been awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants totaling $361,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to prove the feasibility of its next-generation technology for coating medical stents.

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PTCA.us has been nominated for the 2005 Medical Weblog Awards.

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MIV Therapeutics, Inc.  a leading developer of next-generation biocompatible coatings and advanced drug delivery systems, has reported significant progress in a report outlining the achievement of numerous key strategic, corporate and technological objectives for 2005.
Full info via PharmaLive

Xtent, Inc., developer of next generation drug-eluting stent systems, announced today that, for the first time in the history of coronary stenting, a single catheter has been used to treat multiple lesions in multiple coronary arteries in a human patient.  The company further announced that physicians have treated a second patient with the longest coronary stent of any kind ever delivered with a single catheter.
Both breakthroughs represent important milestones in Xtent’s CUSTOM II clinical trial, and promise interventional cardiologists greater ability to treat complex coronary disease.

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CorNova plans to launch its first advanced cobalt-chromium coronary stent system in the second quarter of this calendar year. By obtaining ISO 13485 certification, CorNova will be able to sell its products throughout Europe and many other world-wide markets, excluding the United States and Japan. CorNova is in the process of establishing an additional wholly-owned subsidiary based in Argentina to facilitate distribution in Latin America.

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FlowCardia, Inc. today announced U.S. 510K clearance and immediate market release of the VP Wire and VP Sheath product families. The company also delivered an encouraging progress report on their U.S. pivotal trial.

The new VP Wire and VP Sheath are designed to facilitate the introduction and navigation of balloon catheters and other interventional devices in PTA and PTCA procedures. The highly supportive 0.014″ VP Wire will be available in 165cm and 300cm lengths in a Soft and Standard platform. The VP Sheath is a thin-walled 6 French catheter that can be introduced through any 8F (0.086″ ID) guide catheter or sheath creating an extended, supportive pathway for interventional devices.

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IDev Technologies, Inc. is an Innovator and Developer of next generation medical devices for use in the interventional radiology, vascular surgery, and cardiology device marketplace. IDev Technologies, Inc.’s current portfolio contains over thirty technologies exclusively licensed from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center representing over a $5.0 billion market opportunity.

IDev’s products currently available in the U.S. and European markets include the AKo’nya Eliminator™ Mechanical Thrombectomy Device, the Texan™ Foreign Body Retrieval Device, and the recently released AKo’nya Eliminator Plus™ Mechanical Thrombectomy Device. The SureSave™ Biliary Stent and Precision™ Stent-Delivery Catheter are expected to launch in late 2005.

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Angiotech is expected to announce today that it has begun a pivotal clinical trial in the United States of a central venous catheter (CVC) coated with the chemotherapy drug 5-Flourouracil (5-FU).

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Sixty patients with suspected or documented coronary artery disease admitted to our hospital for coronary angiography were included in this trial. They were allocated to 1 of 3 clopidogrel loading doses (300, 600, or 900 mg) in a double-blinded, randomized manner.

Published in the Circulation

Key Words: platelets • pharmacology • receptors • pharmacokinetics

 May 11-13, 2006, Athens, Greece

The abstract submission deadline 27th January, 2006

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Clinical trials have shown drug-eluting stents (DES) to be superior to bare metal stents (BMS) in preventing in-stent restenosis and target vessel revascularization. Although these results have ushered in a sea change in the practice of myocardial revascularization, important questions remain unanswered concerning rates of ischemic complications when DES are used in a broader population not represented in the clinical trials.

Abstract in the AHJ