title: Biodegradable Polymeric Stents.
abstract: To overcome several problems of conventional metallic stents, there have been many attempts to manufacture stents made of biodegradable materials. Although some studies have noted various degrees of inflammatory responses after biodegradable stent implantation, stents made of poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) showed high biocompatibility with minimal inflammatory response and neointimal formation in porcine coronary arteries. Therefore, PLLA materials are more likely to cover the specific need for human coronary arteries in terms of biodegradation period and scaffolding ability over 6 months. A clinical study of PLLA self-expanding stent implantation is underway in Japan. The initial and 6-month results are favorable and suggest the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of the PLLA biodegradable stent in humans. However, long-term follow-up with larger numbers of patients will be required to validate the long-term efficacy of PLLA stents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Shiga Medical Center for Adults, 5-4-30, Moriyama, Moriyama, Shiga, Japan.
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamai
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Igaki
authors.forename: Eisho
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kyo
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kosuga
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Takuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.forename: Seiichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Motohara
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uehata