Long-Term Results of a Hybrid Revascularization Procedure for Peripheral Arterial Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of hybrid procedure for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), we compared the cases treated using the hybrid procedure with those treated using open revascularization (bypass alone) in our facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 204 patients who underwent revascularization for PAD between 2007 and 2013. We divided the patients into two groups based on the type of procedure. Group 1 included patients who underwent the hybrid procedure, that is, doing endovascular therapy (EVT) either femoral or iliac resion and added the bypass procedure (infragenicular vein bypass) to the below knee artery, and group 2 included patients who underwent only bypass procedure (used autovein), that is, central anastomotic region was femoral artery region and peripheral anastomotic region was below knee artery. We evaluated various factors between the two groups, including the primary patency rate, secondary patency rate, amputation-free survival rate, and determined the efficacy of the hybrid procedure for PAD. RESULTS: In the patient's characteristics, there was significant difference between the two groups in the cases with cerebrovascular disease, only (p = 0.03). There were no significant differences in the primary or secondary patency rates, and the amputation-free survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: Primary patency rate, secondary patency rate, and amputation-free survival rate of the hybrid procedure were comparable to those of bypass (alone) procedure. The hybrid procedure is therefore an acceptable strategy for patients with PAD.

Ezetimibe reduces intimal hyperplasia in rabbit jugular vein graft.

BACKGROUND: The selective cholesterol transport inhibitor ezetimibe is widely used to prevent development of atherosclerosis in patients with hypercholesterolemia. However, whether this agent inhibits intimal hyperplasia in autologous vein grafts is unknown. The present study was undertaken to clarify if ezetimibe reduces cell proliferation and intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts. METHODS: Forty-four rabbits were randomly divided into two groups: one group received ezetimibe (0.6 mg/kg/d), and the control group did not. Ezetimibe administration was started 1 week before rabbits underwent interposition reversed autologous jugular vein grafts. The proliferative cells and apoptotic cells were counted in the vein grafts 14 days after implantation, and changes in acetylcholine-induced relaxation and endothelial intracellular concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) were examined at 28 days. RESULTS: Ezetimibe reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride. There were fewer proliferating cells in the ezetimibe group (5.7%±0.2%, n=7) than in the control group (12.8%±0.5%, n=7; P<.0001) and more apoptotic cells in the ezetimibe group (5.3%±0.2%, n=7) than in the control group (2.3%±0.2%, n=7; P<.0001). Intimal hyperplasia was less in the ezetimibe group (46.1±6.0 µm, n=7) than in the control group (76.0±2.5 µm, n=7; P<.01). Acetylcholine-produced endothelium-dependent relaxation was observed only in the ezetimibe group, which was blocked by the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor Nω-nitro-l-arginine. Acetylcholine increased [Ca2+]i only in the ezetimibe group. CONCLUSIONS: Ezetimibe reduced cell proliferation and enhanced cell apoptosis, thus inhibiting intimal hyperplasia in rabbit autologous vein grafts. Ezetimibe restored the acetylcholine-induced increase in [Ca2+]i in endothelial cells and improved endothelium-dependent NO-mediated relaxation in the vein graft. Our results suggest that ezetimibe enhances the function of endothelial NO through an increase in endothelial [Ca2+]i, thus reducing vein graft intimal hyperplasia.