BACKGROUND Gene therapy has been proposed as a possible solution to the problem of restenosis after coronary angioplasty. The current study was undertaken to assess conventional methods of gene transfer and to develop percutaneous techniques for introducing genes directly into the coronary arteries of large mammals. Since the anticipated targets of gene therapy against restenosis include athero...

In helically cut stripes of monkey coronary arteries of different sizes, contracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha or K+, responses to norepinephrine, epinephrine, isoproterenol, and transmural electrical stimulation were compared. In response to norepinephrine, only contractions were induced in large arteries, contractions at low concentrations and relaxations at high concentrations in medium-siz...

A successful outcome of an arterial switch operation (ASO) for dextro-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) depends in large part on the transfer of the coronary arteries to the neoaorta without distortion or narrowing. However, the origins and distribution of the coronary arteries are quite variable in D-TGA; therefore, the entire experience with ASO at the Children's Hospital in Boston ...

BACKGROUND Coronary arteries without focal stenosis at angiography are generally considered non-flow-limiting. However, atherosclerosis is a diffuse process that often remains invisible at angiography. Accordingly, we hypothesized that in patients with coronary artery disease, nonstenotic coronary arteries induce a decrease in pressure along their length due to diffuse coronary atherosclerosis....

HYPOTHESIS We examined the hypothesis that a specific myocardial injury marker, namely high sensitive cardiac troponin-I (HsTn-I), is elevated in patients with slow coronary flow (SCF) pattern. AIM To examine the above hypothesis by studying a group of patients who had undergone coronary angiography for the detection of their chest pain aetiology with SCF pattern despite an angiographically n...

This study examined the effect of reduced glutathione (GSH), an important antioxidant that restores intracellular redox imbalance and prevents inactivation of endothelial-derived nitric oxide, on the abnormal vasomotor reactivity in spastic coronary arteries. The responses of epicardial diameter of the left coronary arteries to intracoronary infusion of acetylcholine (ACh; 50 microg/min) were m...

Experiments were designed and performed to determine whether endothelial function remained chronically impaired after coronary artery reperfusion. Canine left anterior descending coronary arteries were exposed to ischemia (60 minutes) followed by reperfusion (12 weeks). Rings (3-4 mm wide) of the reperfused artery and of normal left circumflex (control) coronary artery segments were suspended i...

BACKGROUND NADH/NADPH oxidase is an important source of superoxide in the vasculature. Recently, we found that polymorphism of the gene p22phox, a critical component of this oxidase, is associated with a risk of coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the localization of p22phox in human coronary arteries and to examine its difference in expression between nonatheroscl...

Maurice Termeer, Javier Oliván Bescós, Marcel Breeuwer, Anna Vilanova, Frans Gerritsen, Eduard Gröller, Eike Nagel. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria, Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom. Introduction: The American Heart Association proposed a 17-segment model for ...

Fifty five patients with 108 coronary bypass saphenous vein grafts were studied at necropsy. The mean duration of the grafts was 153 days (SD 516). The luminal narrowing of the native coronary arteries proximal to, at, and distal to the vein graft anastomoses and the narrowing of the non-grafted arteries were evaluated planimetrically. Twenty nine per cent of coronary arteries distal to graft a...