Summary
This study aimed to investigate the effect of percutaneous endoluminal arterial cryoenergy
immediately after balloon angioplasty on vascular remodeling. Restenosis, the main
complication after coronary artery angioplasty, is a complex phenomenon in which vascular
remodeling plays a prominent role. Observations of reduced scarring in freeze-induced
wounds suggest potential value for cryoenergy in the prevention of restenosis. Juvenile
swine underwent a first oversized balloon injury in both carotid arteries (CA) (3
injury sites/artery) and a second injury at day 14. At that time, one CA was randomly
assigned to endoluminal cryoenergy of the sequential segments (proximal, medial, distal)
at −15ºC, −30ºC, and −50ºC for 120 sec, and the other CA was used as control. Animals
were sacrificed 28 days after the second procedure. Compared with intact reference
segments, angioplasty reduced both the luminal (LA) and the external elastic lamina
(EEL) areas from 6.66±0.59 to 3.13±0.54 mm2 (p<0.05) and from 8.81±0.81 to 6.48±0.52 mm2 (p<0.05), respectively. Cryoenergy, at the temperature with maximal benefits (-50°C),
caused a temperature-related protection, as the LA was maintained (6.79±0.89 versus
7.18± 0.78 mm2 for reference) and the EEL area increased from 9.12±0.78 to 12.98±1.07 mm2, p<0.05. Moreover, cryoenergy increased the density of collagen III (p<0.05) which
correlated with the maintenance of the LA (r=0.8045, p<0.009). Cryoenergy prevents
late luminal loss after double-injury angioplasty by improving vascular remodeling,
and is an interesting new therapeutic approach for the prevention of restenosis after
angioplasty. The increased synthesis of collagen III appears to be involved in this
phenomenon and could be a potential method of stabilizing the vulnerable plaque.
Keywords
Angioplasty - remodeling - restenosis - cryoenergy - collagen