46 results about "Atheromatous lesion" patented technology

A method and apparatus of providing endovascular therapy. The steps include arranging optical fibers within a catheter, the catheter having a tip whose length is at least 1 cm and whose diameter of less than 1 millimeter, connecting an excimer laser to the optical fibers; and delivering laser energy from the excimer laser in excess of 60 fluence at 40 Hertz through the optical fibers. The delivering of the laser energy may be to non-calcified or calcified deposits of an atherosclerotic lesion to ablate the same. The method also includes the step of inserting the catheter through an artery by pushing the same until the tip is in within laser energy striking distance of the atherosclerotic lesion.

Methods are provided for maintaining or lowering lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A₂ [“Lp-PLA₂”] levels, stabilizing rupture prone-atherosclerotic lesions, decreasing the Inflammatory Index and increasing Total Omega-3 Score™ in humans, by administering an effective amount of eicosapentaecnoic acid [“EPA”], an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid [“PUFA”].

Concentric bipolar electrode sensors and assemblies provide for and/or facilitate detection and diagnosis of the non-obstructive and pro-inflammatory atherosclerotic lesions in human arteries during catheterization using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Fabrication techniques for concentric bipolar electrode sensors are also described.

Methods are provided for reducing copper values for, by way of example, treating, preventing or ameliorating tissue damage such as, for example, tissue damage that may be caused by (i) disorders of the heart muscle (for example, cardiomyopathy or myocarditis) such as idiopathic cardiomyopathy, metabolic cardiomyopathy which includes diabetic cardiomyopathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, drug-induced cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and hypertensive cardiomyopathy, (ii) atheromatous disorders of the major blood vessels (macrovascular disease) such as the aorta, the coronary arteries, the carotid arteries, the cerebrovascular arteries, the renal arteries, the iliac arteries, the femoral arteries, and the popliteal arteries, (iii) toxic, drug-induced, and metabolic (including hypertensive and/or diabetic disorders of small blood vessels (microvascular disease) such as the retinal arterioles, the glomerular arterioles, the vasa nervorum, cardiac arterioles, and associated capillary beds of the eye, the kidney, the heart, and the central and peripheral nervous systems, (iv) plaque rupture of atheromatous lesions of major blood vessels such as the aorta, the coronary arteries, the carotid arteries, the cerebrovascular arteries, the renal arteries, the iliac arteries, the fermoral arteries and the popliteal arteries, (v) diabetes or the complications of diabetes.

The invention provides expandable tubular prostheses that are designed for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions, such as vulnerable plaques, and that are characterized by no foreshortening, optimal radial force and accuracy of deployment. In the treatment of vulnerable plaque, the device may be expanded in a blood vessel so that its central section at least partially contacts a vulnerable plaque lesion and/or the blood vessel wall in close proximity to the vulnerable plaque lesion. The invention also provides more general methods of treating atherosclerosis and promoting endothelialization using the prostheses of the invention.

This invention relates to devices and methods for the local, differential delivery of nitric oxide within the body. The devices include devices having at least two differing nitric oxide donor compounds, such as nitric oxide donor compounds having differing half-lives and nitric oxide donor compounds having different release mechanisms. The devices also include devices having at least two chemically distinct compositions to which nitric oxide donor compounds are adsorbed or attached or within which the donor compounds are disposed. The devices are typically used to increase local nitric oxide concentration in the body upon placement of the medical article at a delivery position on or within a patient. The methods of the present invention include a method of treating an atherosclerotic lesion which comprises: exposing the lesion to a first higher concentration of nitric oxide effective to reduce the number of cells within the lesion; and subsequently exposing the lesion to a second lower concentration of nitric oxide effective to inhibit restenosis. The methods of the present invention also include methods for preferentially providing differing nitric oxide donor compounds within different tissues to effect therapy.

One aspect of the invention provides side-sensing optical fiber-based optical acoustic sensors that are well suited to catheter-based intravascular diagnostic applications. Another aspect of the invention provides intravascular probes, such as catheters, that include a side-sensing optical acoustic sensor according to the invention and means for photoacoustically generating an acoustic signal, such as ultrasound, from a target tissue. Still another aspect of the invention provides a method for evaluating at least a section of a blood vessel, such as an artery, and in particular identifying, locating and/or characterizing atherosclerotic lesions within the blood vessel. A related embodiment provides a method for identifying, locating and/or characterizing lipid-rich atherosclerotic lesions such as vulnerable plaques.

The invention relates to the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases associated with atherosclerosis. The invention further relates to methods of diagnosing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases associated with atherosclerosis. In certain embodiments, the invention provides biological systems and methods for delivering a therapeutic agent or an imaging agent to atherosclerotic lesions such as vulnerable plaques.

The invention provides a composition rich in flavonoids based on natural extracts, comprising a flavonoid extract dispersed by melt mixing or extrusion and encapsulated in a polymer matrix. The invention is also a novel dietary supplement with the naturally occurring ingredient (−)-epicatechin, cacao extracted, that could potentially prevent or reduce the risk of Atherosclerotic pathology. The use of (−)-epicatechin is promising as a therapeutic agent due to its potential antioxidant activity and its diverse biological properties. (−)-Epicatechins are chemically unstable and extensively degraded in fluids of near neutral or greater pH, such as intestinal juice and bile. Current technologies used for taste masking and modified release as spray drying, liposome entrapment, co-crystallization, freeze drying, among others, suffer from numerous shortcomings, including poor repeatability and limitations on target delivery.

The present invention relates generally to a labeled vascular patch to be applied during surgical repair of blood vessels, which have become diseased by atherosclerosis or injured by trauma. More particularly, the present patch comprises a label, useful for locating the patch during post-operative recovery to assess the success of the surgery and/or during subsequent operations on the same portion of vasculature. The label can comprise any material useful for interacting with imaging energy including, but not limited to Radiation Energy (i.e. X-Rays) electromagnetic energy, sound energy, and light energy, and/or any other energy used for therapeutic imaging.

The coronary atherosclerotic heart disease is a heart disease of myocardial ischemia, anoxia or necrosis caused by vessel lomen stenosis or blocking resulted from atherosclerosis lesions of coronary artery blood vessels, and is often called as 'coronary disease'. The coronary disease further includes embolism stenosis or blocking caused by inflammation and embolism. The disease has remarkable regional difference, that is, the disease rates of northern provinces and cities are generally higher than those of southern provinces and cities. The medicine is prepared from medicines including lotus seeds, semen litchi, glutinous rice, allium macrostemon, lily, sandalwood, radix ophiopogonis, ligusticum wallichii, corydalis tuber, sargent gloryvine, radix paeoniae alba, tea tree roots, dates, puffball, American ginseng, aquilaria sinensis, lucid ganoderma, caragana sinica roots, dragon bone, patrinia scabiosaefolia, amber, radix angelicae pubescentis, platycladi seeds, harlequin glorybower leaves, spina date seeds, asarum, pseudo-ginseng, myrrh, trogopterus dung, carthamus tinctorius, fructus evodiae, polygonum cuspidatum, arillus longan, radix curcumae and aconitum carmichaeli. Due to the effects of the combined medicines, a synergistic effect can be achieved, and thus the coronary heart disease can be effectively treated.

Provided are DNA-coated nanoparticles (DNA-NPS), superparamagnetic nanoparticles (DNA-SPNs), and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (DNA-SPIONs) as efficient imaging agents for targeting and imaging atherosclerotic lesions and treating atherosclerotic disease. The DNA-NS, DNA-SPNs, and DNA-SPIONs can enter macrophage cells via the Class A scavenger receptor (SR-A)-mediated pathways and can be used to specifically target atheroscleortic plaques.

The invention provides a toxin-eliminating drug composition, a drug preparation and preparation methods of the drug composition and the drug preparation. The drug composition comprises the following components in parts by weight: 7-10 parts of dogbane, 15-18 parts of field sowthistle herb, 15-18 parts of dandelions and 3-5 parts of ginger, wherein dogbane has the functions of calming the liver, clearing heat, improving the eyesight and reducing internal heat and blood pressure; under the action of the drug dogbane, the content of nicotine in human bodies is reduced to some extent, thus reducing the harms of nicotine to human bodies; field sowthistle herb has the function of eliminating the toxicity of nicotine; the dandelions and ginger can be used for promoting the release of nicotine from the bodies and preventing and relieving such diseases caused by smoking as bronchitis, lung cancers, chronic obstructive lung diseases, atherosclerosis lesions and duodenal ulcer of smokers; therefore under the synergistic action of dogbane, field sowthistle herb, dandelions and ginger, the toxin-eliminating drug composition and drug preparation provided by the invention can be used for reducing the harms of nicotine to human bodies.

The invention belongs to the technical field of medicines, and discloses application of IELLQAR as medicine for preventing and treating atherosclerosis diseases. The IELLQAR can inhibit the binding ofmononuclear cells and P, E and L selection glycoprotein so as to inhibit the adhesion of mononuclear cells and endothelial cells, and also has a function of inhibiting inflammation. An ApoE gene mouse is induced by high fat diet, then obvious atherosclerosis plaques can be seen in the aorta, IELLQAR intervention can retard ApoE gene knockout mouse atherosclerosis lesions, and local mononuclear macrophage infiltration of atherosclerosis plaques can be reduced. Animal experiments and in vitro cell research levels indicate that the IELLQAR can inhibit mononuclear cell adhesion and inflammatory factor expression, atherosclerosis progress can be inhibited through an anti-inflammatory mechanism, atherosclerosis-related diseases can be prevented and treated, and therefore, the IELLQAR has an important clinical application prospect.

The present invention features a novel method of treating vascular disease that involves modifying smooth muscle cells to express a gene encoding a protein having both anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic activity. Preferably, the protein of the invention also has an anti-proliferative effect in smooth muscle cells. In general, the method is useful in preparing vascularized organs and vessels for transplant into a patient. Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to treat atherosclerotic lesions in damaged vessels.