Stent News and Research

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A stent is a small mesh tube that’s used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body.

You may have a stent placed in an artery as part of a procedure called angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). Angioplasty can restore blood flow through narrowed or blocked arteries. Stents help prevent arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after treatment with angioplasty. You may also have a stent placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.

Stents are usually made of metal mesh, but sometimes they’re made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are used in larger arteries. Some stents are coated with medicines that are slowly and continuously released into the artery. These medicines help prevent the artery from becoming blocked again.

Stent trial fails to meet endpoints

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals has announced that results from the REALITY Trial, a head-to-head trial sponsored by Cordis Corporation, comparing the JNJ CYPHER® stent and the TAXUS® stent, were presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session. The trial failed to meet its primary endpoint.

7 Mar 2005

Nonsurgical microspheres an option for liver cancer patients

A study in February’s Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology found that patients undergoing liver cancer treatment with Theraspheres?, radioactive microspheres containing Yittrium-90, can tolerate a 150 Gy single dose or 268 Gy repeated dose without risk of radiation-induced liver disease.

17 Feb 2005

Clinical trial of newest technology to treat thoracic aortic aneurysms

A clinical trial is underway at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) to study the safety and effectiveness of an endovascular medical device to treat life-threatening thoracic aortic aneurysms. Ronald Fairman, MD, Chief of Vascular Surgery at HUP, is leading the study at Penn and is one of 35 principal investigators in North America to participate in this landmark trial.

16 Feb 2005

Adenosine Therapeutics awarded grant to develop drug eluting stents to prevent restenosis

Adenosine Therapeutics announced today the award of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health.

6 Dec 2004

System helps physicians prevent radiation-induced skin injuries to patients

The threading of slender catheters and stents through arteries to deliver treatments to the heart, the brain and elsewhere in the body has produced nothing short of a medical revolution.

4 Dec 2004

Sirolimus drug-coated stent causes less inflammation than bare metal stents

In the treatment of coronary artery disease, a sirolimus drug-coated stent causes less inflammation than bare metal stents, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association annual meeting by Loyola University Health System, Maywood, Ill.

11 Nov 2004

Coronary stents have no impact on mortality over the long term

While the placement of stents in newly reopened coronary arteries has been shown to reduce the need for repeat angioplasty procedures, researchers from the Duke Clinical Research Institute have found that stents have no impact on mortality over the long term.

8 Nov 2004

Landmark case challenges safety of Atkins diet

West Palm Beach County Court Judge Susan Lubitz ruled today that the landmark lawsuit filed by former Atkins dieter and Florida businessman Jody Gorran will go forward.

3 Nov 2004

First hearing in the landmark lawsuit against Atkins Nutritionals

The plaintiff, 53-year-old Jody Gorran, will argue that the Atkins corporation should be held liable for the life-threatening artery blockage he suffered after more than two years on the diet. Gorran filed suit against Atkins Nutritionals on May 26 in Palm Beach County Courthouse.

26 Oct 2004

Breakthrough discovery in treating narrowed arteries

A breakthrough discovery by Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher Dr. Michael Kutryk that harnesses the body’s own natural defenses to fight narrowing of the arteries has been recognized as “a glimpse into the future” and “potentially one of the biggest advances in cardiology to date”.

25 Oct 2004

Rosiglitazone helps boost the effectiveness of a treatment for opening clogged arteries

Rosiglitazone, a drug taken to help improve blood sugar levels, also helps boost the effectiveness of a treatment for opening clogged arteries, according to a study in the November issue of Diabetes Care.

25 Oct 2004

Early reports of thrombosis after insertion of drug-eluting stent

Authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how the use of drug-eluting stents (DES) may carry a risk of subsequent thrombosis if stenting is accompanied by a withdrawal of antiplatelet therapy.

21 Oct 2004

Study raises important questions about the use of drugs that promote or prevent angiogenesis

Dartmouth Medical School cardiology researchers have discovered a new mechanism for what drives the growth of muscle tissue in the lining of injured heart vessels that can eventually lead to blockage.

11 Oct 2004

FDA approval for small vessel cobalt chromium coronary stent

Guidant Corporation has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the company’s newest stent system designed to treat coronary artery disease in small vessels in patients with abrupt or threatened abrupt closure.

20 Sep 2004

Moderate alcohol consumption cuts rate of further narrowing after heart surgery

New German research from Heidelberg University suggests that moderate drinking cuts the rate of further narrowing after surgery to open blocked arteries. The findings are published in the current issue of Heart.

12 Sep 2004

FDA approves stent that treats blockages in the main blood vessel leading to the brain

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a stent for use in opening blocked arteries in the neck. The new stent is intended to prevent stroke by treating blockages in the carotid artery, the main blood vessel leading to the brain.

1 Sep 2004

Less invasive procedure to repair aortic aneurysm could reduce death by two-thirds

Early results of a UK study published online by THE LANCET suggest that a surgical procedure to repair aortic aneurysm that is less invasive than conventional open surgery could reduce death within a month of surgery by around two-thirds.

25 Aug 2004

Drug-eluting stents (DES), increasingly used in coronary angioplasty, have benefits over bare-metal stents

A pooled analysis of 11 previously published trials provides evidence that drug-eluting stents (DES)—increasingly used in coronary angioplasty—have benefits over bare-metal stents (BMS) by reducing the need for later revascularisation and reducing the risk of cardiac events

15 Aug 2004

FDA has granted orphan drug designation to Myogen's ambrisentan, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Myogen has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to ambrisentan for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

3 Aug 2004

Radial artery appears to be a safe alternative to femoral artery for catheter procedures

Instead of threading catheters from the femoral artery in the groin, cardiologists can safely use the radial artery in the arm to gain access to coronary arteries for angioplasty, stent placement, and other procedures

22 Jul 2004