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Molecular Intravascular Imaging Approaches for Atherosclerosis

  • Intravascular Imaging (E Regar and U Landmesser, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an inflammatory process that results in buildup of atherosclerosis, typically lipid-rich plaque in the arterial wall. Progressive narrowing of the vessel wall and subsequent plaque rupture can lead to myocardial infarction and death. Recent advances in intravascular fluorescence imaging techniques have provided exciting coronary artery-targeted platforms to further characterize the molecular changes that occur within the vascular wall as a result of atherosclerosis and following coronary stent-induced vascular injury. This review will summarize exciting recent developments in catheter-based imaging of coronary arterial-sized vessels; focusing on two-dimensional near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRF) molecular imaging technology as an approach to specifically identify inflammation and fibrin directly within coronary artery-sized vessels. Intravascular NIRF is anticipated to provide new insights into the in vivo biology underlying high-risk plaques, as well as high-risks stents prone to stent restenosis or stent thrombosis.

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Conflict of Interest

Marcella Calfon Press declares no conflict of interest.

Farouc A. Jaffer has received research grants from Merck, Kowa, and Siemens.

Funding sources

NIH R01 HL108229, American Heart Association Founders Grant-in-Aid #13GRNT17060040.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiology Division, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Marcella Calfon Press

  2. Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiology Division; Wellman Center for Photomedicine; Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Simches Research Building, Room 3206, 185 Cambridge St, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Farouc A. Jaffer

Authors
  1. Marcella Calfon Press
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  2. Farouc A. Jaffer
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Correspondence to Farouc A. Jaffer.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Intravascular Imaging

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Press, M.C., Jaffer, F.A. Molecular Intravascular Imaging Approaches for Atherosclerosis. Curr Cardiovasc Imaging Rep 7, 9293 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12410-014-9293-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12410-014-9293-x

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