Future medical treatment of endothelial dysfunction in diabetic patients
Several therapeutic interventions have been tested in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease in an effort to improve endothelial function. These therapeutic interventions, in particular statin therapy, ACE inhibition, and arginine supplementation, have shown some improvements in these disease settings. Statins, which were initially designed as lipid-lowering drugs, demonstrate lipid-independent effects such as partially restoring .. Read More
What are the underlying biological mechanisms of better patency with Omniflow II?
Published data have demonstrated the superior performance of OmniflowII (OFII) in terms of patency and resistance to infection. But what really is the underlying mechanism of the better performance of the biosynthetic graft? Today, we would like to focus on possible biological mechanisms of patency performance. It is important to emphasize that these are hypotheses .. Read More
Stents – bane or blessing?
It is interesting to observe the concern over the use of stent especially in coronary arteries especially for late re-stenosis. Much research has been conducted in understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms involved in endothelial dysfunction caused by stent. We could learn the lessons from the coronary stent and apply them to the use of stent .. Read More
Endovascular procedures in dysfunctional dialysis access
Thrombectomy, cutting and balloon angioplasty have been compared though not in randomised comparative studies in their effectiveness as intervention in dysfunctional dialysis access for AVF and AVG. There were promises with new methods such as cryoplasty and drug eluting balloon angioplasty but larger trials need to be conducted to validate early anecdotal success. Fistula failure-to-mature .. Read More
Challenges of the Central Vein Catheter
From 1996 to 2007, in the wake of the ‘Fistula First’ campaign, arteriovenous fistula (AVF) use in the US nearly doubled from 24 to 47%, while over the same time period use of AV grafts (AVGs) declined from 58 to 27%. During the same time, use of central vein catheters increased from 18 to 26%.
Endothelial Dysfunction in Vascular disease
The ideal vascular graft should incorporate human endothelium in its intimal surface as research is beginning to unfold the importance of endothelium in vascular performance. The holy grail in the management of peripheral vascular disease or for that matter cardiovascular disease associated particularly with diabetes is in the understanding of endothelial dysfunction. Current research on .. Read More
New oral anticoagulant approved by FDA in the US
Another oral anticoagulant will soon be available to US physicians treating patients with atrial fibrillation. On November 4, the US Food and Drug Administration approved rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Bayer/Johnson & Johnson) for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. The once daily oral Direct Factor Xa inhibitor was compared to Vitamin K .. Read More
Antithrombotic therapy in vascular grafts
Dear all, We have started a “Connect” blog to encourage vascular surgeons and physicians who are using our vascular graft to “meet and connect” in the virtual room. The objective is to share best practices, experiences and perspectives on difficult clinical situations relating to vascular diseases and the use of our grafts. To start of, .. Read More