Cardiovascular disease is the commonest cause of death in the western world and atherosclerosis is the commonest cause of cardiovascular disease. It is characterised by the deposition of intra-luminal plaque leading to arterial stenosis. Balloon angioplasty offers a minimally invasive method of dilating peripheral and coronary arterial stenosis. The results of angioplasty are improved by stenting. However, a significant percentage of these patients have restenosis of their arteries with clinical and resource implications. Restenosis is caused by neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) and negative remodelling the combined effects of which result in vessel re-narrowing. It has previously been shown in animal models that photodynamic therapy (PDT) reduces the restenosis when used as an adjuvant to angioplasty. PDT involves the interaction of light at a particular wavelength with a pre-administered photosensitive agent to produce cell death by apoptosis in the presence of oxygen. The aims of this thesis are two fold. 1. to optimise the effects of PDT in preventing in-stent restenosis 2. to conduct a randomised controlled trial to show the clinical benefits of PDT in preventing post-angioplasty restenosis.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:428108 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Pai, Mahesh Laxman |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445860/ |
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