At RSNA 2011, the latest and greatest in radiology engaged nearly 60,000 imaging and informatics stakeholders.
A study published in the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging found that intensive treatment with cholesterol-lowering drugs significantly reduced the amount of cholesterol in artery-clogging plaque, while also showing that MRI scanning could become a powerful new tool for assessing how well the drugs are working.
Dalcetrapib (Roche) modulates cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity; however, the dal-PLAQUE study published online Sept. 12 in the Lancet, showed no evidence of a pathological effect related to the arterial wall over 24 months duration. While the trial found that dalcetrapib may have long standing vascular effects, including a reduction in vessel enlargement over 24 months, researchers said that more data are necessary to understand the long-term safety of the molecule.
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) may further stratify risk in patients eligible for the JUPITER trial and could be used to identify who will benefit the most, or least, from statin therapy, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of
The Lancet.
Pericardial fat measured by MRI correlated more strongly with plaque eccentricity than body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in Radiology. The relationship between pericardial fat and overall plaque burden was stronger for men than women in the study.
While both maximum internal and mean common carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) can help predict cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, maximum intima-media thickness of the internal carotid artery can improve the classification of risk of CV disease, according to a study published July 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Despite similar overall burdens of atherosclerotic plaque and stenosis, African Americans may have less stable lesions than whites due to significantly higher volumes of noncalcified plaque, according to a study published June 21 in
Radiology, leading experts to suggest that coronary CT angiography may be a more appropriate screening study than calcium scoring among African Americans.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new type of imaging technology which could be used to take 3D images of plaque lining arteries, according to study findings scheduled to be published June 17 in Physical Review Letters. The authors said the technology could be used to diagnose cardiovascular disease and other “lipid-related disorders,” by measuring ultrasound signals from chemical bonds in molecules exposed to a pulsing laser.
The first study of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) screening in an asymptomatic population linked the study with increased aspirin and statin use at 90 days and 18 months and increased invasive testing without any difference in events at 18 months, according to results published online May 23 in
Archives of Internal Medicine.
In clinical cardiac Rubidium-82 PET studies, globally impaired flow reserve is a relevant marker for predicting short-term cardiovascular events, and it may be used for integration with currently established functional and morphologic test results and for guidance of preventive measures, especially in the absence of regional flow-limiting disease, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
