New Technologies: Deborah Offers Drug-Eluting Stents
In the US each year, 800,000 people undergo coronary angioplasty to open narrowed and/or blocked arteries. More than 80 percent of these patients will receive stents; however, within six to nine months, many of these patients will experience in-stent restenosis due to scar tissue build-up, which could require them to undergo additional interventional or surgical procedures. Drug-eluting stents, when used during angioplasty, offer effective reduction of restenosis by emitting a controlled-release drug for several weeks after the procedure.
In-stent restenosis has posed a challenge because the probability of recurrent restenosis in previously stented patients is 40-80%. Though some therapies exist to treat in-stent restenosis once it occurs, until now, no methods were available to limit it.
Restenosis is largely caused by uncontrolled smooth muscle cell