Editor's Choice - Two Year Results of the Randomised DISCOVER Trial Comparing Covered Versus Bare Metal Stents in the Common Iliac Artery.

Objective: It has been suggested that covered stents (CS) may lower restenosis rates compared with bare metal stents (BMS) after endovascular treatment of the common iliac artery. This trial aimed to provide additional evidence on the efficacy of CS vs. BMS in the common iliac artery.

Omniflow II biosynthetic grafts versus expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for infrainguinal bypass surgery. A single-center retrospective analysis.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of Omniflow II biosynthetic vascular grafts as compared to synthetic expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts in infrainguinal bypass surgery.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective, observational study was performed reviewing patients with critical limb ischemia who underwent infrainguinal bypass surgery between 2014 and 2018. Patients characteristics, graft characteristics, and treatment outcomes were collected.

Angioplasty versus stenting for iliac artery lesions.

Background: Atherosclerosis of the iliac artery may result in a stenosis or occlusion, which is defined as iliac artery occlusive disease. A range of surgical and endovascular treatment options are available. Open surgical procedures have excellent patency rates but at the cost of substantial morbidity and mortality.

Clinical validation of 2D perfusion angiography using Syngo iFlow software during peripheral arterial interventions.

Objective: Endovascular surgery is an important treatment modality in peripheral arterial disease. Digital subtraction angiography is the standard post revascularisation diagnostic tool to locate lesions and to evaluate the effect of an intervention. However, interpretation of digital subtraction angiography images is subjective and it is difficult to determine whether revascularisation has been sufficient for clinical improvement.

Angioplasty versus stenting for iliac artery lesions.

Background: Atherosclerosis of the iliac artery may result in a stenosis or occlusion, which is defined as iliac artery occlusive disease. A range of surgical and endovascular treatment options are available. Open surgical procedures have excellent patency rates but at the cost of substantial morbidity and mortality.

Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in a patient with an aorto-left renal vein fistula.

The combination of an aorto-left renal vein fistula (ALRVF) and a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm is extremely rare, with only 9 cases having been reported. We present such a case and discuss the previously reported cases and treatment strategies.

[Chewing gum to prevent postoperative ileus].

Postoperative ileus is a commonly occurring complication after abdominal surgery. Reduced well-being and ileus related complications lead to extension of hospital stay. An early commencement of postoperative feeding to stimulate the digestive system is not always achievable in practice.

[A woman with acute upper abdominal pain].

A 42-year-old woman came to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. CT-scan showed an isolated dissection of the A. mesenterica superior and signs of ischaemic colitis.

Critical role of tissue kallikrein in vessel formation and maturation: implications for therapeutic revascularization.

Objective: Human Tissue Kallikrein (hKLK1) overexpression promotes an enduring neovascularization of ischemic tissue, yet the cellular mechanisms of hKLK1-induced arteriogenesis remain unknown. Furthermore, no previous study has compared the angiogenic potency of hKLK1, with its loss of function polymorphic variant, rs5515 (R53H), which possesses reduced kinin-forming activity.

Methods And Results: Here, we demonstrate that tissue kallikrein knockout mice (KLK1-/-) show impaired muscle neovascularization in response to hindlimb ischemia.

Prolonged in vivo gene silencing by electroporation-mediated plasmid delivery of small interfering RNA.

For the successful application of RNA interference in vivo, it is desired to achieve (local) delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and long-term gene silencing. Nonviral electrodelivery is suitable to obtain local and prolonged expression of transgenes. By intramuscular electrodelivery of a plasmid in which two opposing human polymerase III promoters (H1 and U6) drive the expression of siRNA constructs that form functional double-stranded siRNAs, in combination with in vivo bioluminescence imaging, we were able to knock down exogenous delivered luciferase for at least 100 days in murine calf muscles.

Vaccination against VEGFR2 attenuates initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.

Objective: Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2)-overexpressing cells may form an interesting target for the treatment of atherosclerosis because of their involvement in processes that contribute to this disease, such as angiogenesis.

Methods And Results: We vaccinated mice against VEGFR2 by an orally administered DNA vaccine, comprising a plasmid, encoding murine VEGFR2, carried by live attenuated Salmonella typhimurium. This vaccine induces cellular immunity against cells that overexpress VEGFR2.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, stromal cell-derived factor-1, and CXCR4 in human limb muscle with acute and chronic ischemia.

Objective: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) has been implicated in angiogenesis in ischemic tissues by recruitment of CXCR4-positive bone marrow-derived circulating cells with paracrine functions in preclinical models. Here, evidence for this is provided in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Methods And Results: Expression patterns of VEGF, SDF-1, and CXCR4 were studied in amputated limbs of 16 patients.

Hypercholesterolemia reduces collateral artery growth more dominantly than hyperglycemia or insulin resistance in mice.

Objective: Collateral artery development (arteriogenesis), a vital compensatory mechanism in patients with arterial obstructive disease, may be deregulated by vascular risk factors, eg, diabetes or hypercholesterolemia. Here, we compared the effects of either disturbed glucose metabolism or disturbed lipid metabolism on arteriogenesis.

Methods And Results: Femoral artery occlusion was performed in streptozotocin(STZ)-treated mice, nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, and insulin-resistant Ob/Ob mice on regular diet, and APOE3*Leiden mice on different hypercholesterolemic diets.

Vascular endothelial growth factor overexpression in ischemic skeletal muscle enhances myoglobin expression in vivo.

Therapeutic angiogenesis using vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered a promising new therapy for patients with arterial obstructive disease. Clinical improvements observed consist of improved muscle function and regression of rest pain or angina. However, direct evidence for improved vascularization, as evaluated by angiography, is weak.