Plaque progression is a multi-faceted process characterized by the incidence, extent, stenosis, burden, morphology, and vulnerability of plaque, which may ultimately result in myocardial infarction or death. For years, intravenous ultrasound (IVUS) has been the primary modality to study progression. However, it is invasive and impractical for screening or monitoring. While coronary artery calci...

BACKGROUND Characteristics of individual calcified plaques, especially calcium concentration (CC), may provide incremental value to global calcium scores in the assessment of plaque burden and risk of coronary events and evaluation of therapeutic intervention. In this study, therefore, we assessed the characteristics of individual calcified plaques and their relationship to other parameters der...

OBJECTIVE To compare the delivery and retention of triclosan in dental plaque, and to compare the antibacterial efficacy of a newly developed toothpaste to a marketed calcium carbonate toothpaste. METHODS Two clinical delivery/retention studies were carried out to determine the concentration of triclosan in plaque 10 minutes, and two and four hours after brushing with a new triclosan-containi...

This study sought to identify distinct patient groups and their association with outcome based on the similarity network using quantitative coronary plaque characteristics from computed tomography angiography (CTA). Coronary CTA can noninvasively assess plaques quantitatively. Patients who underwent 2 CTAs at a minimum of 24 months’ interval were analyzed (n = 1,264). A Mapper patients was buil...

Introduction: Air-powder polishing devices are increasingly used for stain and plaque removal. However, besides cleaning the tooth surface, they may increase the surface roughness of the dental tissues. This in turn may result in plaque accumulation and superficial degradation. Thus the aim of this study was to assess the influence of three different abrasive agents: Pumice, Sodium bicarbonate ...

Coronary artery disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the developed world. Effective means of treatment such as drug therapy to lower cholesterol levels are available, but clinical application to patients at highest risk remains imprecise. Electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) has been suggested as a means to diagnose subclinical coronary disease and facilitate risk stratification, but no c...

Casein phosphopeptides-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) is a bioactive agent with a base of milk products, which has been formulated from two parts: casein phosphopeptides (CPP) and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP). CPP was produced from milk protein casein and has a remarkable ability to stabilize calcium phosphate in solution and to substantially increase the level of calcium phosphate ...

OBJECTIVES Little data are available regarding coronary plaque composition and semi-quantitative scores in individuals with diabetes; the extent to which diabetes may affect the presence and extent of Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) needs more evaluation. Considering that this information may be of great value in formulating preventive interventions in this population, we compared these findings ...