background: in this study, we used a new computerized analytical method for the measurement of the endothelial function in sequential ultrasound images and compared it with histological studies, using the abdominal aorta in normal and atherosclerotic rabbits. methods: six rabbits received a standard rabbit chow as the normal group and the other 6 rabbits were fed a high cholesterol diet for fou...

Investigations from basic biology suggest that activation of the Rho/Rho kinase pathway reduces the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) and thereby promotes atherosclerosis and its clinical complications. Yet, little information is available about the relationship of the Rho/Rho kinase pathway to NO bioavailability in humans with atherosclerosis. Accordingly, we determined whether inhibition o...

background: a precise understanding of the mechanism of human neointimal stenoses and atherosclerotic fibrous plaques , which give rise to thromboses in vital arteries, requires a suitable animal model that would mimic the same characteristics well. we developed a rabbit model of neointimal stenosis and fibrotic plaque rupture in the carotid artery to visualize the lesion progress and to charac...

Abstract Background In atherosclerosis, local inflammation and associated macrophage activity can lead to foam cell-rich plaque formation, which results rupture thrombosis, making an important therapeutic target in cardiovascular disease. The early stage of atherosclerosis is characterized by the accumulation low-density lipoprotein (LDL) droplets, leading creation cells. Foam cells are generat...

Endothelial function is thought to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart failure. In the 1990s, high-frequency ultrasonographic imaging of the brachial artery to assess endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) was developed. The technique provokes the release of nitric oxide, resulting in vasodilation that can be quantitated as an in...

background: common carotid arterial stiffness can be assessed during carotid arterial ultrasonography, but its association with brachial stiffness, a well-defined cardiovascular risk factor, has not been clarified. the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between common carotid artery and brachial artery stiffness. methods: the static pressure-strain elastic modulus of the common c...

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction precedes atherosclerosis. Vasodilation induced by acetylcholine (ACh) is a specific test of endothelial function. Reproducibility of laser techniques such as laser-Doppler-flowmetry (LDF) and Laser-speckle-contrast-imaging (LSCI) to detect ACh vasodilation is debated and results expressions lack standardization. We aimed to study at a 7-day interval (i) the in...

Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits have severe hypercholesterolemia due to a genetic defect in their low density lipoprotein receptors. Therefore, they develop severe premature atherosclerosis of the large arteries including the coronary arteries. In the present study, we measured the coronary vascular reserve of these rabbits to evaluate the total cross-sectional coronary surface...

conclusion in cases with critical atherosclerotic disease of anterior tibial artery, pta-based biphasic or triphasic retrograde collateral flow prevents ischemia, whereas monophasic support or no retrograde flow remains incapable. results in the patient group, 31 lower limb arteries, of total of 17 cases, were included. after compression maneuver, dpa in 11 cases (six right, five left) showed r...

The purpose of the study was to assess the therapeutic effect of the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab on plaques of various stages in rabbit models using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). Abdominal aortic atherosclerosis was induced in 55 rabbits. Thirty-six randomly selected rabbits were divided into 2 groups according to the timing of the bevacizumab injection: an early-stage plaque...