Detektion, Quantifizierung und morphologische Charakterisierung atherosklerotischer Läsionen der Koronargefäße mit der kardialen Mehrschicht-Spiral-Computertomographie

Der technische Fortschritt im Bereich der kardialen Computertomographie ermöglicht durch die Einführung der Mehrschicht-Spiral-CT (MSCT) und die damit verbundene verbesserte zeitliche wie auch räumliche Auflösung neue Möglichkeiten in der nicht invasiven Diagnostik der koronaren Herzerkrankung (KHK). Die Grundlage dieser Erkrankung bilden atherosklerotische Veränderungen der Herzkranzgefäße. Mit Hilfe der MSCT lässt sich diese auf zwei unterschiedliche Arten darstellen. Zum einen kommt hierbei die Detektion von Koronarkalk in einem nativen CT-Scan zum Einsatz. Kalk spiegelt nicht nur das Vorhandensein von atherosklerotischen Läsionen wieder, sondern die Menge an Verkalkung, quantifizierbar in unterschiedlichen Scores (Agatston-Score, Kalkvolumen- und Massescore) korreliert mit dem Ausmaß der koronaren Atherosklerose. Allerdings müssen atherosklerotische Plaques nicht zwangsläufig Kalkeinlagerungen aufweisen. Durch die zusätzliche Applikation eines Kontrastmittels gelingt die Darstellung der Koronargefäße in ihrem gesamten Verlauf sowie zudem von Wandveränderungen dieser epikardialen Arterien. Eine beträchtliche Zahl von Studien an kleineren Patientenkollektiven konnte zeigen, dass sich mit Hilfe dieser Modalität mittel- bis höchstgradige Stenosen detektieren lassen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde der diagnostische Stellenwert der kontrastmittelverstärkten MSCT-Angiographie (MSCTA) zur morphologischen Differenzierung und Quantifizierung atherosklerotischer Plaques der Herzkranzgefäße (Plaque-Imaging) evaluiert. In einer Vergleichsstudie mit dem intravaskulären Ultraschall, dem derzeitigen Goldstandard, an 46 konsekutiven Patienten sollte die Sensitivität und Spezifität der 16-Zeilen-CT-Angiographie (Sensation 16, Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Deutschland) bei der morphologischen Klassifizierung der Plaques untersucht werden. Hierbei wurden mit der MSCTA in 62 von 80 (78%) 3-mm-Koronarsubsegmenten echoarme weiche Läsionen richtig identifiziert. 87 von 112 (78%) Subsegmenten enthielten nach CT-Analyse echoreiche fibröse Läsionen und in 150 von 158 (95%) Subsegmenten konnten verkalkte Areale richtig detektiert werden. In 484 von 525 (92%) Gefäßabschnitten ließen sich atherosklerotische Veränderungen richtig ausschließen. Vorraussetzung waren hierbei eine minimale mittlere Dicke des Plaques von 1,5 mm und ein minimaler mittlerer EEM-Durchmesser des analysierten Segments von 2,5 mm im intravaskulären Ultraschall (IVUS). Entsprechend der verschiedenen Plaquemorphologien im IVUS konnten signifikant unterschiedliche CT-Dichtewerte für echoarme weiche Läsionen von 49 ± 22 Hounsfield-Einheiten (HU) bei einer Spannweite von 14 bis 82 HU, für echoreiche fibröse Areale von 91 ± 22 HU (Spannweite: 34 bis 125 HU) und für kalzifizierte Plaques von 391 ± 156 HU (Spannweite: 162 bis 820 HU) berechnet werden. Damit zeigte sich eine Dichtewert-Überlappung innerhalb der nicht kalzifizierten Läsionen, die sich durch die Natur atherosklerotischer Veränderungen als auch durch die Messunschärfe des IVUS erklären lässt: demnach ist eine strikte Trennung zwischen echoarmen und echoreichen Gewebeanteilen selbst mit dieser invasiven Modalität nicht eindeutig möglich, vor allem unter dem Gesichtspunkt des pathologischen Prozesses der Atherosklerose an sich, bei dem unterschiedliche Stadien von Veränderungen nebeneinander und auch innerhalb eines erkrankten Abschnitts existieren können. Basierend auf diesen Erkenntnissen initiierten wir eine weitere Studie, die eine hypothetische Variabilität hinsichtlich der vorherrschenden Plaquemorphologie bei Patienten mit einer unterschiedlichen Manifestation einer KHK herausarbeiten sollte. Dazu wurden 21 Patienten (18 Männer, 3 Frauen, mittleres Alter: 64,3 ± 8 Jahre) mit einem akuten Myokardinfarkt (AMI) als Erstmanifestation in der unmittelbaren Vorgeschichte (14 ± 5 Tage), sowie 19 Patienten (17 Männer, 2 Frauen, mittleres Alter: 68,5 ± 9 Jahre) mit einer stabilen Angina pectoris-Symptomatik (SAP) eingeschlossen. Mit Hilfe eines 4-Zeilen-Scanners (Volume Zoom, Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Deutschland) ließen sich signifikante Unterschiede beider Gruppen bezüglich der atherosklerotischen Plaquelast einerseits und der vorherrschenden Morphologie andererseits aufzeigen, die eine enge Korrelation zum klinischen Beschwerdebild aufwiesen. So konnten wir in dem SAP-Kollektiv insgesamt signifikant mehr Koronarkalk und verkalkte Plaquefläche nachweisen (Kalkvolumenscore: 631,4 ± 676,3 vs. 322,4 ± 366,2 [p < 0,04]; Fläche verkalkter Läsionen: 141,88 mm2 vs. 56,9 mm2 [p < 0,003]). Die AMI-Patienten wiesen im Gegenzug insgesamt weniger Plaquefläche auf, die von signifikant mehr nicht verkalkten Läsionen eingenommen wurde (Gesamtplaquefläche: 121,2 mm2 vs. 187,88 mm2 [p < 0,005]; Fläche nicht verkalkter Areale: 26,7 mm2 vs. 7,3 mm2 [p < 0,001]). Damit konnten wir erstmalig, nicht invasiv Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Plaquezusammensetzung und –last bei Patientenkollektiven mit einer unterschiedlichen klinischen Manifestation der koronaren Herzerkrankung bestätigen. Zusammengenommen eröffnet die MSCTA als derzeit einzige nicht invasive Methode, die Möglichkeit einer zuverlässigen Detektion koronarer Plaques. Dies könnte sich nutzbringend bei der Risikostratifizierung zukünftiger koronarer Ereignisse asymptomatischer, wie auch symptomatischer Patienten einsetzten lassen. Außerdem gestattet diese Modalität, zumindest theoretisch, ein nicht invasives Follow-up der Plaqueprogression oder möglicher Effekte medikamentöser Therapiestrategien. Größere Studien, vor allem an Patientenkollektiven mit einer geringen Pretest-Wahrscheinlichkeit für eine KHK müssen folgen, um den klinischen Stellenwert dieses vielversprechenden Verfahrens in prospektiven Ansätzen zu evaluieren

Cardiac arrest associated with sildenafil ingestion in a patient with an abnormal origin of the left coronary artery: case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Left coronary artery arising from the right sinus of Valsalva is an uncommon congenital coro-nary anomaly that seems to be associated with sudden death in young patients.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of cardiac arrest in a 59-year-old patient after sexual intercourse and Silde-nafil ingestion. A coronary arteriography and an angiographic computed tomography scan subsequently revealed a LCA origin from the right aortic sinus along with an intramural course of the left main stem. In addition a distal stenosis of the right coronary artery was detected. After successful resuscitation without neurological deficits coronary artery bypass surgery was performed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating sudden cardiac arrest associated with Sildenafil ingestion in a patient with this type of coronary anomaly. The question arises, whether a cardiac screening is necessary before a Sildenafil therapy is initiated.</p

SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging as an adjunct to coronary calcium score for the detection of hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis

Background: Coronary artery calcifications (CAC) are markers of coronary atherosclerosis, but do not correlate well with stenosis severity. This study intended to evaluate clinical situations where a combined approach of coronary calcium scoring (CS) and nuclear stress test (SPECT-MPI) is useful for the detection of relevant CAD. Methods: Patients with clinical indication for invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were included into our study during 08/2005- 09/2008. At first all patients underwent CS procedure as part of the study protocol performed by either using a multidetector computed tomography (CT) scanner or a dual-source CT imager. CAC were automatically defined by dedicated software and the Agatston score was semi-automatically calculated. A stress-rest SPECT-MPI study was performed afterwards and scintigraphic images were evaluated quantitatively. Then all patients underwent ICA. Thereby significant CAD was defined as luminal stenosis >= 75% in quantitative coronary analysis (QCA) in >= 1 epicardial vessel. To compare data lacking Gaussian distribution an unpaired Wilcoxon-Test (Mann-Whitney) was used. Otherwise a Students t-test for unpaired samples was applied. Calculations were considered to be significant at a p-value of 0 significant CAD was confirmed by ICA, and excluded in 152/284 (53.5%) patients. Sensitivity for CAD detection by CS alone was calculated as 99.2%, specificity was 30.3%, and negative predictive value was 98.5%. An additional SPECT in patients with CS&gt;0 increased specificity to 80.9% while reducing sensitivity to 87.9%. Diagnostic accuracy was 84.2%. Conclusions: In patients without CS=0 significant CAD can be excluded with a high negative predictive value by CS alone. An additional SPECT-MPI in those patients with CS>0 leads to a high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of CAD while reducing the number of patients needing invasive diagnostic procedure

CT stress perfusion imaging for detection of haemodynamically relevant coronary stenosis as defined by FFR

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy (DA) of CT-myocardial perfusion imaging (CT-MPI) and a combined approach with CT angiography (CTA) for the detection of haemodynamically relevant coronary stenoses in patients with both suspected and known coronary artery disease. Design: Prospective, non-randomised, diagnostic study. Setting: Academic hospital-based study. Patients: 65 patients (42 men age 70.4 +/- 9) with typical or atypical chest pain. Interventions: CTA and CT-MPI with adenosine stress using a fast dual-source CT system. At subsequent invasive angiography, FFR measurement was performed in coronary arteries to define haemodynamic relevance of stenosis. Main outcome measures: We tried to correlate haemodynamically relevant stenosis (FFR <0.80) to a reduced myocardial blood flow (MBF) as assessed by CT-MPI and determined the DA of CT-MPI for the detection of haemodynamically relevant stenosis. Results: Sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of CTA alone were very high (100% respectively) for ruling out haemodynamically significant stenoses, specificity, Positive predictive value (PPV) and DA were low (43.8, 67.3 and 72%, respectively). CT-MPI showed a significant increase in specificity, PPV and DA for the detection of haemodynamically relevant stenoses (65.6, 74.4 and 81.5%, respectively) with persisting high sensitivity and NPV for ruling out haemodynamically relevant stenoses (97% and 95.5% respectively). The combination of CTA and CT-MPI showed no further increase in detection of haemodynamically significant stenosis compared with CT-MPI alone. Conclusions: Our data suggest that CT-MPI permits the detection of haemodynamically relevant coronary artery stenoses with a moderate DA. CT may, therefore, allow the simultaneous assessment of both coronary morphology and function

MMP-1 serum levels predict coronary atherosclerosis in humans

<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>Myocardial infarction results as a consequence of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, with plaque stability largely depending on the lesion forming extracellular matrix components. Lipid enriched non-calcified lesions are considered more instable and rupture prone than calcified lesions. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are extracellular matrix degrading enzymes with plaque destabilisating characteristics which have been implicated in atherogenesis. We therefore hypothesised MMP-1 and MMP-9 serum levels to be associated with non-calcified lesions as determined by CT-angiography in patients with coronary artery disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>260 patients with typical or atypical chest pain underwent dual-source multi-slice CT-angiography (0.6-mm collimation, 330-ms gantry rotation time) to exclude coronary artery stenosis. Atherosclerotic plaques were classified as calcified, mixed or non-calcified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In multivariable regession analysis, MMP-1 serum levels were associated with total plaque burden (OR: 1.37 (CI: 1.02-1.85); p < 0.05) in a model adjusted for age, sex, BMI, classical cardiovascular risk factors, hsCRP, adiponectin, pericardial fat volume and medication. Specification of plaque morphology revealed significant association of MMP-1 serum levels with non-calcified plaques (OR: 1.16 (CI: 1.0-1.34); p = 0.05) and calcified plaques (OR: 1.22 (CI: 1,03-1.45); p < 0.05) while association with mixed plaques was lost in the fully adjusted model. No associations were found between MMP9 serum levels and total plaque burden or plaque morphology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MMP-1 serum levels are associated with total plaque burden but do not allow a specification of plaque morphology.</p

Determination of Pericardial Adipose Tissue Increases the Prognostic Accuracy of Coronary Artery Calcification for Future Cardiovascular Events

Objectives: Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) is associated with coronary artery plaque accumulation and the incidence of coronary heart disease. We evaluated the possible incremental prognostic value of PAT for future cardiovascular events. Methods: 145 patients (94 males, age 60 10 years) with stable coronary artery disease underwent coronary artery calcification (CAC) scanning in a multislice CT scanner, and the volume of pericardial fat was measured. Mean observation time was 5.4 years. Results: 34 patients experienced a severe cardiac event. They had a significantly higher CAC score (1,708 +/- 2,269 vs. 538 +/- 1,150, p 400, 3.5 (1.9-5.4; p = 0.007) for scores > 800 and 5.9 (3.7-7.8; p = 0.005) for scores > 1,600. When additionally a PAT volume > 200 cm(3) was determined, there was a significant increase in the event rate and relative risk. We calculated a relative risk of 2.9 (1.9-4.2; p = 0.01) for scores > 400, 4.0 (2.1-5.0; p = 0.006) for scores > 800 and 7.1 (4.1-10.2; p = 0.005) for scores > 1,600. Conclusions:The additional determination of PAT increases the predictive power of CAC for future cardiovascular events. PAT might therefore be used as a further parameter for risk stratification. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Predictive value of coronary calcifications for future cardiac events in asymptomatic patients with diabetes mellitus: A prospective study in 716 patients over 8 years

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To establish an efficient prophylaxis of coronary artery disease reliable risk stratification is crucial, especially in the high risk population of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. This prospective study determined the predictive value of coronary calcifications for future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic patients with diabetes mellitus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We included 716 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (430 men, 286 women, age 55.2 ± 15.2 years) in this study. On study entry all patients were asymptomatic and had no history of coronary artery disease. In addition, all patients showed no signs of coronary artery disease in ECG, stress ECG or echocardiography. Coronary calcifications were determined with the Imatron C 150 XP electron beam computed tomograph. For quantification of coronary calcifications we calculated the Agatston score. After a mean observation period of 8.1 ± 1.1 years patients were contacted and the event rate of cardiac death (CD) and myocardial infarction (MI) was determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the observation period 40 patients suffered from MI, 36 patients died from acute CD. The initial Agatston score in patients that suffered from MI or died from CD (475 ± 208) was significantly higher compared to those without cardiac events (236 ± 199, p < 0.01). An Agatston score above 400 was associated with a significantly higher annualised event rate for cardiovascular events (5.6% versus 0.7%, p < 0.01). No cardiac events were observed in patients with exclusion of coronary calcifications. Compared to the Framingham risk score and the UKPDS score the Agatston score showed a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy in the prediction of MI with an area under the ROC curve of 0.77 versus 0.68, and 0.71, respectively, p < 0.01.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By determination of coronary calcifications patients at risk for future MI and CD could be identified within an asymptomatic high risk group of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. On the other hand future events could be excluded in patients without coronary calcifications.</p

Spin asymmetry A_1^d and the spin-dependent structure function g_1^d of the deuteron at low values of x and Q^2

We present a precise measurement of the deuteron longitudinal spin asymmetry A_1^d and of the deuteron spin-dependent structure function g_1^d at Q^2 < 1 GeV^2 and 4*10^-5 < x < 2.5*10^-2 based on the data collected by the COMPASS experiment at CERN during the years 2002 and 2003. The statistical precision is tenfold better than that of the previous measurement in this region. The measured A_1^d and g_1^d are found to be consistent with zero in the whole range of x.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Low Adiponectin Levels Are an Independent Predictor of Mixed and Non-Calcified Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaques

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary artery disease (CAD). There is increasing recognition that lesion composition rather than size determines the acute complications of atherosclerotic disease. Low serum adiponectin levels were reported to be associated with coronary artery disease and future incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The impact of adiponectin on lesion composition still remains to be determined. We measured serum adiponectin levels in 303 patients with stable typical or atypical chest pain, who underwent dual-source multi-slice CT-angiography to exclude coronary artery stenosis. Atherosclerotic plaques were classified as calcified, mixed or non-calcified. In bivariate analysis adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with total coronary plaque burden (r = -0.21, p = 0.0004), mixed (r = -0.20, p = 0.0007) and non-calcified plaques (r = -0.18, p = 0.003). No correlation was seen with calcified plaques (r = -0.05, p = 0.39). In a fully adjusted multivariate model adiponectin levels remained predictive of total plaque burden (estimate: -0.036, 95%CI: -0.052 to -0.020, p<0.0001), mixed (estimate: -0.087, 95%CI: -0.132 to -0.042, p = 0.0001) and non-calcified plaques (estimate: -0.076, 95%CI: -0.115 to -0.038, p = 0.0001). Adiponectin levels were not associated with calcified plaques (estimate: -0.021, 95% CI: -0.043 to -0.001, p = 0.06). Since the majority of coronary plaques was calcified, adiponectin levels account for only 3% of the variability in total plaque number. In contrast, adiponectin accounts for approximately 20% of the variability in mixed and non-calcified plaque burden. Adiponectin levels predict mixed and non-calcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque burden. Low adiponectin levels may contribute to coronary plaque vulnerability and may thus play a role in the pathophysiology of ACS

Gluon polarization in the nucleon from quasi-real photoproduction of high-pT hadron pairs

We present a determination of the gluon polarization Delta G/G in the nucleon, based on the helicity asymmetry of quasi-real photoproduction events, Q^2<1(GeV/c)^2, with a pair of large transverse-momentum hadrons in the final state. The data were obtained by the COMPASS experiment at CERN using a 160 GeV polarized muon beam scattered on a polarized 6-LiD target. The helicity asymmetry for the selected events is = 0.002 +- 0.019(stat.) +- 0.003(syst.). From this value, we obtain in a leading-order QCD analysis Delta G/G=0.024 +- 0.089(stat.) +- 0.057(syst.) at x_g = 0.095 and mu^2 =~ 3 (GeV}/c)^2.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure