The drug-eluting stent: is it the Holy Grail?
Although the restenosis rate of coronary stenting is generally 10% to 20%, it can go as high as 60% in patients with diabetes or complex lesions. Currently, the only effective treatment for restenosis is brachytherapy. Drug-eluting stents may be the way to prevent restenosis that cardiologists have been seeking: the drug-coated stents are simple to use and help prevent negative remodeling and the intimal hyperplasia caused by stenting. In studies comparing sirolimus-coated and bare-metal stents, the sirolimus-coated stents resulted in less smooth muscle cell colonization, minimal intimal hyperplasia, and no edge effect; moreover, no adverse clinical events were reported. Currently ongoing, multicenter clinical trials of drug-eluting stents may soon come up with the answers that cardiologists have been hoping for.
Hiatt
B L
BL
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA.
Carter
A J
AJ
Yeung
A C
AC
D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015607:Stents; D014654:Vascular Patency
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D020123:Sirolimus