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Intracoronary Ultrasound in Assessing Efficacy of Cardiovascular Drugs

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Abstract

Despite substantial advances in our approach to prevent cardiovascular disease, there is an ongoing need to develop new therapeutic strategies to achieve more effective reduction in cardiovascular risk. Intravascular ultrasound imaging of the coronary arteries has been increasingly employed in clinical trials to evaluate the impact of medical therapies on the progression of atherosclerosis. In addition to the ability to assess whether novel agents can slow disease progression, these studies have provided a number of important insights into the factors that underlie the natural history of disease progression.

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Disclosure

Dr. Nicholls reports receiving honoraria from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Takeda, and Merck Schering-Plough, consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Roche, Novo-Nordisk, Merck Schering-Plough, Liposcience, and Anthera Pharmaceuticals, and research support from AstraZeneca, Lipid Sciences, Novartis, and Resverlogix. Dr. Tuzcu reports receiving consultancy fees from Pfizer and honoraria from Pfizer and Merck. Dr. Nissen has received research support from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Takeda, Sankyo, and Sanofi-Aventis. He has consulted for a number of pharmaceutical companies without financial compensation. All honoraria, consulting fees, or any other payments from any for-profit entity are paid directly to charity, so that neither income nor any tax deduction is received. Dr Uno reports no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart & Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Mail Code JJ-65, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Stephen J. Nicholls, Kiyoko Uno, E. Murat Tuzcu & Steven E. Nissen

  2. Department of Cell Biology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Stephen J. Nicholls

  3. Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Stephen J. Nicholls

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  1. Stephen J. Nicholls
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  2. Kiyoko Uno
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  3. E. Murat Tuzcu
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  4. Steven E. Nissen
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Correspondence to Stephen J. Nicholls.

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Nicholls, S.J., Uno, K., Tuzcu, E.M. et al. Intracoronary Ultrasound in Assessing Efficacy of Cardiovascular Drugs. curr cardiovasc imaging rep 3, 190–196 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12410-010-9027-7

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