The Scandinavian Propaten(®) trial - 1-year patency of PTFE vascular prostheses with heparin-bonded luminal surfaces compared to ordinary pure PTFE vascular prostheses - a randomised clinical controlled multi-centre trial.

Objective: To compare 1-year potencies' of heparin-bonded PTFE [(Hb-PTFE) (Propaten(®))] grafts with those of ordinary polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) grafts in a blinded, randomised, clinically controlled, multi-centre study.

Materials And Methods: Eleven Scandinavian centres enrolled 569 patients with chronic functional or critical lower limb ischaemia who were scheduled to undergo femoro-femoral bypass or femoro-poplitaeal bypass. The patients were randomised 1:1 stratified by centre.

Meta-analysis of postoperative mortality after elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms detected by screening.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the mortality rate within 30 days of elective surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in men randomized to an invitation for ultrasound screening with that of men in the control group, whose aneurysms were detected incidentally.

Methods: Relevant reports from randomized trials of screening were identified through a systematic search of MEDLINE. Four relevant trials were identified, and supplemented with data from the Viborg Vascular screening trial.

Quality of life and functional status after revascularization or conservative treatment in patients with intermittent claudication.

Unlabelled: Revascularization of patients with intermittent claudication (IC) is recommended only for selected patients who have chronic pain or disabling disease. However, improvement in the quality of life (QoL) could justify more widespread use.

Objectives: To determine the effect of conservative treatment and revascularization on the QoL and physical performance of selected patients with IC.

Identification of peroxiredoxin-1 as a novel biomarker of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Objective: In the search of novel biomarkers of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression, proteins released by intraluminal thrombus (ILT) were analyzed by a differential proteomic approach.

Methods And Results: Different layers (luminal/abluminal) of the ILT of AAA were incubated, and the proteins released were analyzed by 2-dimensional difference in-gel electrophoresis. Several differentially expressed proteins involved in main AAA pathological mechanisms (proteolysis, oxidative stress, and thrombosis) were identified by mass spectrometry.

Soluble TWEAK plasma levels predict expansion of human abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objectives: Diminished soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) concentrations are associated with cardiovascular diseases. We have analyzed sTWEAK levels and its relation with expansion rate in subjects with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Methods: sTWEAK levels were measured by ELISA.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Although the number of elective operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is increasing, the sex- and age-standardised mortality rate of AAAs continues to rise, especially among men aged 65 years or more. The lethality of ruptured AAA continues to be 80-95%, compared with 5-7% by elective surgery of symptomfree AAA. In order to fulfil all WHO, European, and Danish criteria for screening, a randomised hospitalbased screening trial of 12,639 65-73 year old men in Viborg County (Denmark) was initiated in 1994.

Novel aspects of the pathogenesis of aneurysms of the abdominal aorta in humans.

Aneurysm of the abdominal aorta (AAA) is a particular, specifically localized form of atherothrombosis, providing a unique human model of this disease. The pathogenesis of AAA is characterized by a breakdown of the extracellular matrix due to an excessive proteolytic activity, leading to potential arterial wall rupture. The roles of matrix metalloproteinases and plasmin generation in progression of AAA have been demonstrated both in animal models and in clinical studies.

[Hospital costs for abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery].

Introduction: The aim of the study was to estimate the direct cost of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair and to validate it against the national Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) costs.

Material And Methods: Records from involved hospitals were used along with information on wages, cost of ICU and ward time were used to estimate the direct hospital costs including surgery-related costs up to one year after discharge from the vascular department for 75 patients who were consecutively operated for asymptomatic AAA, symptomatic AAA with and without rupture in the period leading up to March 2008.

Results: Cost for emergency surgery varied considerably (33,069-2,842,708 DKK).

Proteins associated with the size and expansion rate of the abdominal aortic aneurysm wall as identified by proteomic analysis.

Objectives: Identification of biomarkers for the natural history of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) holds the key to non-surgical intervention and improved selection for AAA repair. We aimed to associate the basic proteomic composition of AAA wall tissue with the expansion rate and size in patients with AAA.

Methods: A proteomic approach was used, consisting of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify differentially expressed proteins in AAA tissue.

Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study of caffeine in patients with intermittent claudication.

Background: Intermittent claudication is a disabling symptom of peripheral arterial disease for which few medical treatments are available. This study investigated the effect of caffeine on physical capacity in patients with intermittent claudication.

Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study included 88 patients recruited by surgeons from outpatient clinics.

Genome-wide association study identifies a sequence variant within the DAB2IP gene conferring susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm.

We performed a genome-wide association study on 1,292 individuals with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and 30,503 controls from Iceland and The Netherlands, with a follow-up of top markers in up to 3,267 individuals with AAAs and 7,451 controls. The A allele of rs7025486 on 9q33 was found to associate with AAA, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.21 and P = 4.

Upper-limb thrombo-embolectomy: national cohort study in Denmark.

Objectives: We investigated the incidence of thrombo-embolectomy in upper-limb and prognosis with respect to arm amputation, stroke and death.

Methods: We performed a national cohort study of individuals, aged 40-99 years, and undergoing first-time thrombo-embolectomy in the brachial, ulnar or radial artery in Denmark from 1990 to 2002. The data were retrieved from the National Vascular Registry and from the National Registry of Patients and the Civil Registration System.

Increased levels of thioredoxin in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). A potential link of oxidative stress with AAA evolution.

Objective: Oxidative stress is a main mechanism involved in vascular pathologies. Increased thioredoxin (TRX) levels have been observed in several oxidative stress-associated cardiovascular diseases. We aim to test the potential role of TRX as a biomarker of oxidative stress in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

The Viborg Vascular (VIVA) screening trial of 65-74 year old men in the central region of Denmark: study protocol.

Background: Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) of men aged 65-74 years reduces the AAA-related mortality and is generally considered cost effective. Despite of this only a few national health care services have implemented permanent programs. Around 10% of men in this group have peripheral arterial disease (PAD) defined by an ankle brachial systolic blood pressure index (ABI) below 0.

Long-term benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms from a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The aim was to estimate long-term mortality benefits and cost-effectiveness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in men aged 64-73 years.

Methods: All men aged 64-73 years living in Viborg County were randomized to be controls (n = 6306) or invited for abdominal ultrasonography at a regional hospital (n = 6333). Mortality and AAA-related interventions were recorded in national databases.

Sequence variants at CHRNB3-CHRNA6 and CYP2A6 affect smoking behavior.

Smoking is a common risk factor for many diseases. We conducted genome-wide association meta-analyses for the number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) in smokers (n = 31,266) and smoking initiation (n = 46,481) using samples from the ENGAGE Consortium. In a second stage, we tested selected SNPs with in silico replication in the Tobacco and Genetics (TAG) and Glaxo Smith Kline (Ox-GSK) consortia cohorts (n = 45,691 smokers) and assessed some of those in a third sample of European ancestry (n = 9,040).

Association of serum adiponectin with risk for cardiovascular events in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Objects: Adiponectin exerts anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties and may be important as a biomarker for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined whether serum adiponectin was linked with future cardiovascular events or all-cause death in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: The study prospectively included 468 patients (58% male) with symptomatic PAD.

Prevention of primary vascular graft infection with silver-coated polyester graft in a porcine model.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a silver-coated vascular polyester graft in the prevention of graft infection after inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus in a porcine model.

Material And Methods: Eighty-four pigs were randomly selected 1:1 to receive a silver-coated or non-silver-coated 8-mm-wide polyester graft implanted end-to-end in the infrarenal aorta. At the end of implantation, 10(6) colony forming units (CFUs) S.

[False-positive findings in screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm].

The incidence of false-positive screening results in connection with ultrasound scans (US) for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is unknown, but it is presumably a rare occurrence. The estimated predictive values of both false and true screening results are high because abdominal US describes the aortic diameter with a high precision. We describe a false-positive finding in a 66-year-old male.

Proteomic analysis identifies mitochondrial metabolic enzymes as major discriminators between different stages of the failing human myocardium.

Objectives: Our aim was to identify patterns in differentially regulated proteins associated with the progression of chronic heart failure. We specifically studied proteomics in chronic reversibly (RDM) and irreversibly dysfunctional myocardium (IRDM), as well as end-stage failing myocardium (ESFM).

Methods: We studied biopsies from 9 patients with stable chronic heart failure undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) (EF 34% +/- 3%) and from 4 patients with ESFM undergoing heart transplantation (EF 17% +/- 5%).

Critical role of mast cell chymase in mouse abdominal aortic aneurysm formation.

Background: Mast cell chymase may participate in the pathogenesis of human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), yet a direct contribution of this serine protease to AAA formation remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Human AAA lesions had high numbers of chymase-immunoreactive mast cells. Serum chymase level correlated with AAA growth rate (P=0.

Intermittent roxithromycin for preventing progression of small abdominal aortic aneurysms: long-term results of a small clinical trial.

Background: Antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae are associated with an increased rate of expansion of small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Short-term follow-up trials have shown a transient reduction AAA growth rate, in macrolide treated compared with placebo. Therefore we analysed the influence of intermittent, long-term roxithromycin treatment on AAA expansion and referral for surgery.

Drug therapy for improving walking distance in intermittent claudication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of robust randomised controlled studies.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological interventions in improving walking capacity and health-related quality of life for people with intermittent claudication. DATASOURCES: We searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane library and relevant websites for studies published from the start of the databases to February 2009. In addition, reference lists were manually searched.

Basic science review. Vascular distensibility as a predictive tool in the management of small asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Background: This study investigates whether baseline aortic wall distensibility serves as a supplemental bio-marker for AAA progression and need for later repair.

Methods: In 1998, 61 males with a small asymptomatic AAAs had a baseline measurement of elasticity and stiffness, using an echo-tracking ultrasound system (Diamove). The cohort was followed till 2005 concerning Dmax, expansion rate, operations for AAA, hospitalisation do to cardiovascular disease and death.