Is atherosclerosis regression a realistic goal of statin therapy and what does that mean?

Current Atherosclerosis Reports

Volumn 15, Issue 1, 2013, Pages

  Singh, Mukesh ^a   Bedi, Updesh Singh ^b  

^a The Chicago Medical College   (United States)

^b OCHSNER CLINIC FOUNDATION   (United States)

Author keywords

Atherosclerosis regression; Statin; Vascular imaging

Indexed keywords

ATORVASTATIN; C REACTIVE PROTEIN; HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; HYDROXYMETHYLGLUTARYL COENZYME A REDUCTASE INHIBITOR; LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL; PLACEBO; PRAVASTATIN;

ARTERIAL WALL THICKNESS; ARTICLE; ATHEROMA; ATHEROSCLEROSIS; ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE; B SCAN; CARDIOVASCULAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE; CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROSIS; CORONARY ARTERY CALCIFICATION; CORONARY ARTERY CALCIUM SCORE; CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE; HUMAN; HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA; INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND; ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE; RISK REDUCTION; DISEASE COURSE; REVIEW;

ATHEROSCLEROSIS; DISEASE PROGRESSION; HUMANS; HYDROXYMETHYLGLUTARYL-COA REDUCTASE INHIBITORS;

EID: 84871178333     PISSN: 15233804     EISSN: 15346242     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11883-012-0294-4     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Rader DJ, Daugherty A. Translating molecular discoveries into new therapies for atherosclerosis. Nature. 2008;451:904-13. (Pubitemid 351301745)
2. Murray CJ, Lopez AD. Global mortality, disability, and the contribution of risk factors: global burden of disease study. Lancet. 1997;349:1436-42. (Pubitemid 27212192)
3. Beaglehole R, Bonita R. Global public health: a scorecard. Lancet. 2008;372:1988-96.
4. Shepherd J, Cobbe SM, Ford I, et al. Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia. West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:1301-7.
5. Randomized trial of cholesterol lowering in 4444 patients with coronary heart disease: the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S). Lancet. 1994;344:1383-9.
6. Downs JR, Clearfield M, Weis S, et al. Primary prevention of acute coronary events with lovastatin in men and women with average cholesterol levels: results of AFCAPS/TexCAPS. Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study. JAMA. 1998;279:1615-22. (Pubitemid 28248586)
7. Sacks FM, Pfeffer MA, Moye LA, et al. The effect of pravastatin on coronary events after myocardial infarction in patients with average cholesterol levels. Cholesterol and Recurrent Events Trial investigators. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1001-9. (Pubitemid 26338729)
8. Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20,536 high-risk individuals: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2002;360:7-22. (Pubitemid 34756487)
9. Libby P, Theroux P. Pathophysiology of coronary artery disease. Circulation. 2005;111:3481-8. (Pubitemid 40923403)
10. Sipahi I, Tuzcu EM. Candidate mechanisms for regression of coronary atherosclerosis with high-dose statins: insight from intravascular ultrasonography trials. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs. 2008;8(6):365-71.
11. Libby P. Inflammation in atherosclerosis. Nature. 2002;420:868-74. (Pubitemid 36019640)
12. Vogel RA. Cholesterol lowering and endothelial function. Am J Med. 1999;107:479-87. (Pubitemid 29528337)
13. Zaman AG, Helft G, Worthley SG, Badimon JJ. The role of plaque rupture and thrombosis in coronary artery disease. Atherosclerosis. 2000;149:251-66. (Pubitemid 30145535)
14. Libby P. Changing concepts of atherogenesis. J Intern Med. 2000;247:349-58. (Pubitemid 30180037)
15. Hansson GK. Inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:1685-95. (Pubitemid 40530235)
16. Glagov S, Weisneberg E, Zarins CK, Stankunavicius R, Kolettis GJ. Compensatory enlargement of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries. N Engl J Med. 1987;316:1371-5. (Pubitemid 17079680)
17. Cannon CP, Braunwald E, McCabe CH, Rader DJ, Rouleau JL, Belder R, et al. Pravastatin or atorvastatin evaluation and infection therapy-thrombolysis in myocardial infarction 22 investigators. Intensive versus moderate lipid lowering with statins after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:1495-504. (Pubitemid 38477774)
18. Klein LW. Atherosclerosis regression, vascular remodeling, and plaque stabilization. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49:271-3. (Pubitemid 46054403)
19. Shanmugam N, Román-Rego A, Ong P, Kaski JC. Atherosclerotic plaque regression: fact or fiction? Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2010;24(4):311-7. This article discusses the evaluation of plaque regression and its effect on survival.
20. Williams KJ, Feig JE, Fisher EA. Rapid regression of atherosclerosis: insights from the clinical and experimental literature. Nat Clin Pract Cardiovasc Med. 2008;5:91-102. (Pubitemid 351168064)
21. Ortego M, Bustos C, Hernández-Presa MA, Tuñón J, Díaz C, Hernández G, et al. Atorvastatin reduces NF-kappaB activation and chemokine expression in vascular smooth muscle cells and mononuclear cells. Atherosclerosis. 1999;147:253-61. (Pubitemid 29512257)
22. Tardif JC, Lesage F, Harel F, Romeo P, Pressacco J. Imaging biomarkers in atherosclerosis trials. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2011;4:319-33. This review discusses various imaging modalities for detection of atherosclerosis, their application, strengths, and limitations.
23. Chambless LE, Zhong MM, Arnett D, Folsom AR, Riley WA, Heiss G. Variability in B-mode ultrasound measurements in the atherosclerosis risk communities (ARIC) study. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1996;22(5):545-54. (Pubitemid 26230582)
24. Geroulakos G, O'Gorman DJ, Kalodiki E, Sheridan DJ, Nicolaides AN. The carotid intima-media thickness as a marker of the presence of severe symptomatic coronary artery disease. Eur Heart J. 1994;15:781-5. (Pubitemid 24205967)
25. Burke GL, Evans GW, Riley WA, Sharrett AR, Howard G, Barnes RW, et al. Arterial wall thickness is associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease in middle-aged adults: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Stroke. 1995;26:386-91.
26. Bots ML, Hoes AW, Koudstaal PJ, Hofman A, Grobbee DE. Common carotid intima-media thickness and risk of stroke and myocardial infarction. Circulation. 1997;96:1432-7. (Pubitemid 27375333)
27. O'Leary DH, Polak JF, Kronmal RA, Manolio TA, Burke GL, Wolfson Jr SK. Carotid-artery intima and media thickness as a risk factor for myocardial infarction and stroke in older adults. N Engl J Med. 1999;340:14-22. (Pubitemid 29024679)
28. Touboul PJ, Elbaz A, Koller C, for the GÉNIC Investigators, et al. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness and brain infarction: The Étude du Profile Génétique de l'Infarctus Cérébral (GÉNIC) case-control study. Circulation. 2000;102(3):313-8. (Pubitemid 30457582)
29. Touboul PJ, Hennerici MG, Meairs S, et al. Mannheim carotid intima-media thickness consensus (2004-2006). An update on behalf of the Advisory Board of the 3rd and 4th Watching the Risk Symposium, 13th and 15th European Stroke Conferences, Mannheim, Germany, 2004, and Brussels, Belgium, 2006. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2007;23(8):75-80. (Pubitemid 46112808)
30. Stein JH, Korcarz CE, Hurst RT, et al. American Society of Echocardiography Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Task Force. Use of carotid ultrasound to identify subclinical vascular disease and evaluate cardiovascular disease risk: a consensus statement from the American Society of Echocardiography Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Task Force. Endorsed by the Society for Vascular Medicine. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2008;21(10):93-112.
31. Amarenco P, Labreuche J, Lavallee P, Touboul PJ. Statins in stroke prevention and carotid atherosclerosis. Stroke. 2004;35(12):2902-9. (Pubitemid 39565192)
32. Bedi US, Singh M, Singh PP, Bhuriya R, Bahekar A, Molnar J, et al. Effects of statins on progression of carotid atherosclerosis as measured by carotid intimal-medial thickness: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2010;15(3):268-73.
33. Mannami T, Konishi M, Baba S, Nishi N, Terao A. Prevalence of asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic lesions detected by high-resolution ultrasonography and its relation to cardiovascular high risk factors in the general population of a Japanese city: the Suita study. Stroke. 1997;28(3):518-25. (Pubitemid 27118371)
34. Crouse JR, Raichlen JS, Riley WA, for the METEOR study group, et al. Effect of rosuvastatin on progression of carotid intima-media thickness in low-risk individuals with subclinical atherosclerosis. The METEOR Trial. JAMA. 2007;297(6):1344-53. (Pubitemid 46513235)
35. Groot E, Jukema JW, van Swijndregt ADM, et al. B-mode ultrasound assessment of pravastatin treatment effect on carotid and femoral artery walls and its correlations with coronary arteriographic findings: a report of the Regression Growth Evaluation Statin Study (REGRESS). J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998;31(4):1561-7. (Pubitemid 28273299)
36. Hodis HN, Mack WJ, LaBree L, et al. Reduction in carotid arterial wall thickness using lovastatin and dietary therapy: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Ann Intern Med. 1996;24(6):548-56. (Pubitemid 26085055)
37. Furberg CD, Adams Jr HP, Applegate WB, for the Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Progression Study (ACAPS) Research Group, et al. Effect of lovastatin on early carotid atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. Circulation. 1994;90(4):1679-87. (Pubitemid 24320914)
38. Smilde TJ, van Wissen S, Wollersheim H, Trip MD, Kastelein JJP, Stalanhoef AFH. Effects of aggressive versus conventional lipid lowering on atherosclerosis progression in familial hypercholesterolemia (ASAP). Lancet. 2001;357(8):577-81. (Pubitemid 32179609)
39. Taylor AJ, Kent SM, Flaherty PJ, Coyle LC, Markwood TT, Vernalis MN. Arterial biology for the investigation of the treatment effects of reducing cholesterol: a randomized trial comparing the effects of atorvastatin and pravastatin on carotid intima medial thickness (ARBITER). Circulation. 2002;106(3):2055-60. (Pubitemid 35192810)
40. MacMahon S, Sharpe N, Gamble G, et al. Effects of lowering average or below-average cholesterol levels on the progression of carotid atherosclerosis: results of the LIPID Atherosclerosis Substudy. Circulation. 1998;97(8):1784-90. (Pubitemid 28213621)
41. Hedblad B, Wikstrand J, Janzon L, Wedel H, Berglund G. Low-dose metoprolol CR/XL and fluvastatin slow progression of carotid intima-media thickness: main results from the β-Blocker Cholesterol-Lowering Asymptomatic Plaque Study (BCAPS). Circulation. 2001;103(1):1721-6. (Pubitemid 32291407)
42. Yu CM, Zhang Q, Lam L, et al. Comparison of intensive and low-dose atorvastatin therapy in the reduction of carotid intimal-medial thickness in patients with coronary heart disease. Heart. 2007;93(7):933-9. (Pubitemid 47122042)
43. Mercuri M, Bond MG, Sirtori CR, et al. Pravastatin reduces carotid intima-media thickness progression in an asymptomatic hypercholesterolemic Mediterranean population: the Carotid Atherosclerosis Italian Ultrasound Study. Am J Med. 1996;101:627-34. (Pubitemid 27150041)
44. Nissen SE, Yock P. Intravascular ultrasound: novel pathophysiological insights and current clinical applications. Circulation. 2001;103:604-16. (Pubitemid 32116248)
45. Nissen SE. Application of intravascular ultrasound to characterize coronary artery disease and assess the progression or regression of atherosclerosis. Am J Cardiol. 2002;89:24B-31B. (Pubitemid 34185517)
46. Nissen SE, Nicholls SJ, Sipahi I, Libby P, Raichlen JS, Ballantyne CM, et al. Effect of very high-intensity statin therapy on regression of coronary atherosclerosis: the ASTEROID trial. JAMA. 2006;295:1556-65.
47. Jang IK, Bouma BE, Kang DH, Park SJ, Park SW, Seung KB, et al. Visualization of coronary atherosclerotic plaques in patients using optical coherence tomography: comparison with intravascular ultrasound. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;39:604-9. (Pubitemid 34158155)
48. Aoki J, Rodríguez-Granillo GA, Serruys PW. Emergent strategies in interventional cardiology. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2005;58:962-73. (Pubitemid 41419171)
49. Nissen SE, Tuzcu EM, Schoebnhagen P, et al. Effect of intensive compared with moderate lipid-lowering therapy on progression of coronary atherosclerosis: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004;291:1071-80. (Pubitemid 38541684)
50. Nissen SE, Tsunoda T, Tuzcu EM, et al. Effect of recombinant ApoA-I Milano on coronary atherosclerosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;290:2292-300. (Pubitemid 37430562)
51. Okazaki S, Yokoyama T, Miyauchi K, et al. Early statin treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome: demonstration of the beneficial effect on atherosclerotic lesions by serial volumetric intravascular ultrasound analysis during half a year after coronary event: the ESTABLISH Study. Circulation. 2004;110:1061-8. (Pubitemid 39319003)
52. Nissen SE, Tuzcu EM, Libby P, et al. Effect of antihypertensive agents on cardiovascular events in patients with coronary disease and normal blood pressure: the CAMELOT study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004;292:2217-25. (Pubitemid 39473159)
53. Nicholls SJ, Tuzcu EM, Sipahi I, et al. Statins, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and regression of coronary atherosclerosis. JAMA. 2007;297:499-508. (Pubitemid 46220805)
54. Santos RD, Nasir K. Insights into atherosclerosis from invasive and non-invasive imaging studies: Should we treat subclinical atherosclerosis? Atherosclerosis. 2009;205(2):349-56. This article discusses the treatment of subclinical atherosclerosis.
55. Bedi U, Singh M, Singh P, Molnar J, Khosla S, Arora R. Effects of statins on progression of coronary artery disease as measured by intravascular ultrasound. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011;13(7):492-6.
56. Jensen LO, Thayssen P, Pedersen KE, et al. Regression of coronary atherosclerosis by simvastatin: a serial intravascular ultrasound study. Circulation. 2004;110:265-70. (Pubitemid 38955495)
57. Schartl M, Bocksch W, Koschyk DH, et al. Use of intravascular ultrasound to compare effects of different strategies of lipid-lowering therapy on plaque volume and composition in patients with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 2001;104:387-92. (Pubitemid 32678266)
58. Nissen SE, Tuzcu EM, Schoenhagen P, et al. Statin therapy, LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:29-38. (Pubitemid 40075678)
59. Agatston AS, Janowitz WR, Hildner FJ, Zusmer NR, Viamonte M, Detrano R. Quantification of coronary artery calcium using ultrafast computed tomography. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1990;15:827-32. (Pubitemid 20101575)
60. Callister TQ, Cooil B, Raya SP, Lippolis NJ, Russo DJ, Raggi P. Coronary artery disease: improved reproducibility of calcium scoring with and electron-beam CT volumetric method. Radiology. 1998;208:807-14. (Pubitemid 28405121)
61. Detrano R, Tang W, Kang X, Mahaisavariya P, McCrae M, Garner D, et al. Accurate coronary calcium phosphate mass measurements from electron beam computed tomograms. Am J Card Imaging. 1995;3:167-73.
62. Hoff JA, Daviglus ML, Chomka EV, Krainik AJ, Sevrukow A, Kondos GT. Conventional coronary artery disease risk factors and coronary artery calcium detected by electron beam tomography in 30,908 healthy individuals. Ann Epidemiol. 2003;13:163-9. (Pubitemid 36258404)
63. Secci A, Wong N, Tang W, Wang S, Doherty T, Detrano R. Electron beam computed tomographic coronary calcium as a predictor of coronary events. Circulation. 1997;96:1122-9. (Pubitemid 27344213)
64. Pletcher MJ, Tice JA, Pignone M, Browner WS. Using the coronary artery calcium score to predict coronary heart disease events: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1285-92. (Pubitemid 38828878)
65. Shaw LJ, Raggi P, Schisterman E, Berman DS, Callister TQ. Prognostic value of cardiac risk factors and coronary artery calcium screening for all-cause mortality. Radiology. 2003;228:826-33. (Pubitemid 37025495)
66. Greenland P, LaBree L, Azen SP, Doherty TM, Detrano RC. Coronary artery calcium score combined with Framingham score for risk prediction in asymptomatic individuals. JAMA. 2004;291:210-5. (Pubitemid 38082815)
67. Yeboah J, McClelland RL, Polonsky TS, Burke GL, Sibley CT, O'Leary D, et al. Comparison of novel risk markers for improvement in cardiovascular risk assessment in intermediate-risk individuals. JAMA. 2012;308(8):788-95. This article compares the risk markers for improvement of risk stratification in intermediate-risk individuals.
68. Callister TQ, Raggi P, Cooil B, Lippolis NJ, Russo DJ. Effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on coronary artery disease as assessed by electron-beam computed tomography. N Engl J Med. 1998;339:1972-8. (Pubitemid 29024129)
69. Schmermund A, Erbel R. Unstable coronary plaque and its relation to coronary calcium. Circulation. 2001;104:1682-7. (Pubitemid 32947534)
70. Budoff MJ, Raggi P. Coronary artery disease progression assessed by electron-beam computed tomography. Am J Cardiol. 2001;88:46E-50E. (Pubitemid 32721986)
71. Achenbach S, Ropers D, Pohle K, Leber A, Thilo C, Knez A, et al. Influence of lipid-lowering therapy on the progression of coronary artery calcification: a prospective evaluation. Circulation. 2002;106:1077-82. (Pubitemid 34970847)
72. Schmermund A, Achenbach S, Budde T, Buziashvili Y, Förster A, Friedrich G, et al. Effect of intensive versus standard lipid-lowering treatment with atorvastatin on the progression of calcified coronary atherosclerosis over 12 months: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial. Circulation. 2006;113:427-37. (Pubitemid 43803205)
73. Schoenhagen P, Tuzcu EM, Stillman AE, Moliterno DJ, Halliburton SS, Kuzmiak SA, et al. Non-invasive assessment of plaque morphology and remodeling in mildly stenotic coronary segments: comparison of 16-slice computed tomography and intravascular ultrasound. Coron Artery Dis. 2003;14:459-62. (Pubitemid 37070325)
74. Achenbach S, Ropers D, Hoffmann U, MacNeill B, Baum U, Pohle K, et al. Assessment of coronary remodeling in stenotic and nonstenotic coronary atherosclerotic lesions by multidetector spiral computed tomography. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43:842-7. (Pubitemid 38296486)
75. Leber AW, Knez A, Becker A, Becker C, von Ziegler F, Nikolaou K, et al. Accuracy of multidetector spiral computed tomography in identifying and differentiating the composition of coronary atherosclerotic plaques: a comparative study with intracoronary ultrasound. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43:1241-7. (Pubitemid 38452602)
76. Achenbach S, Moselewski F, Ropers D, Ferencik M, Hoffmann U, MacNeill B, et al. Improved detection of calcified and noncalcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque by contrast-enhanced, submillimeter multidetector spiral computed tomography: a segment-based comparison with intravascular ultrasound. Circulation. 2004;109:14-7. (Pubitemid 38056013)
77. Pundziute G, Schuijf JD, Jukema JW, Boersma E, de Roos A, van der Wall EE, et al. Prognostic value of multislice computed tomography coronary angiography in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49:62-70. (Pubitemid 46026899)
78. Min JK, Shaw LJ, Devereux RB, Okin PM, Weinsaft JW, Russo DJ, et al. Prognostic value of multidetector coronary computed tomographic angiography for prediction of all-cause mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50:1161-70. (Pubitemid 47375010)
79. Corti R. Noninvasive imaging of atherosclerotic vessels by MRI for clinical assessment of the effectiveness of therapy. Pharmacol Ther. 2006;110:57-70. (Pubitemid 43250692)
80. Tang TY, Howarth SP, Miller SR, Graves MJ, Patterson AJ, U-King-Im JM, et al. The ATHEROMA (Atorvastatin Therapy: Effects on Reduction of Macrophage Activity) Study. Evaluation using ultra small super-paramagnetic iron oxide-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in carotid disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:2039-50. This article demonstrated that aggressive lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin over a 3-month period is associated with significant reduction in carotid plaque inflammation evaluated with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.
81. Underhill HR, Yuan C, Zhao XQ, Kraiss LW, Parker DL, Saam T, et al. Effect of rosuvastatin therapy on carotid plaque morphology and composition in moderately hypercholesterolemic patients: a high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging trial. Am Heart J. 2008;155:584.e1-8.
82. Crisby M, Nordin-Fredriksson G, Shah PK, Yano J, Zhu J, Nilsson J. Pravastatin treatment increases collagen content and decreases lipid content, inflammation, metalloproteinases, and cell death in human carotid plaques: implications for plaque stabilization. Circulation. 2001;103:926-33. (Pubitemid 32183796)
83. Corti R, Fuster V, Fayad ZA, Worthley SG, Helft G, Smith D, et al. Lipid lowering by simvastatin induces regression of human atherosclerotic lesions: two years' follow-up by high-resolution noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging. Circulation. 2002;106:2884-7. (Pubitemid 35424736)
84. Yonemura A, Momiyama Y, Fayad ZA, Ayaori M, Ohmori R, Higashi K, et al. Effect of lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin on atherosclerotic aortic plaques detected by noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;45:733-42. (Pubitemid 40278972)
85. Lima JA, Desai MY, Steen H, Warren WP, Gautam S, Lai S. Statin-induced cholesterol lowering and plaque regression after 6 months of magnetic resonance imaging-monitored therapy. Circulation. 2004;110:2336-41. (Pubitemid 39407336)
86. Kawasaki M, Sano K, Okubo M, et al. Volumetric quantitative analysis of tissue characteristics of coronary plaques after statin therapy using three-dimensional integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005;45:1946-53. (Pubitemid 40814113)
87. Cannon CP, Braunwald E, McCabe CH, et al. Intensive versus moderate lipid lowering with statins after acute coronary syndromes. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:1495-504. (Pubitemid 38477774)
88. Eisen HJ, Tuzcu EM, Dorent R, et al. Everolimus for the prevention of allograft rejection and vasculopathy in cardiac-transplant recipients. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:847-58. (Pubitemid 37025404)
89. Berry C, L'Allier PL, Grégoire J, Lespérance J, Levesque S, Ibrahim R, et al. Comparison of intravascular ultrasound and quantitative coronary angiography for the assessment of coronary artery disease progression. Circulation. 2007;115:1851-7. (Pubitemid 46598898)
90. Brown BG. A direct comparison of intravascular ultrasound and quantitative coronary arteriography: implications for measures of atherosclerosis as clinical surrogates. Circulation. 2007;115:1824-6. (Pubitemid 46598894)
91. Schoenhagen P, Tuzcu EM, Apperson-Hansen C, Wang C, Wolski K, Lin S, et al. Determinants of arterial wall remodeling during lipid-lowering therapy: serial intravascular ultrasound observations from the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive Lipid Lowering Therapy (REVERSAL) trial. Circulation. 2006;113:2826-34. (Pubitemid 44305295)
92. Ballantyne CM, Raichlen JS, Nicholls SJ, Erbel R, Tardif JC, Brener SJ, et al. The ASTEROID Investigators. Effect of rosuvastatin therapy on coronary artery stenoses assessed by quantitative coronary angiography. a study to evaluate the effect of rosuvastatin on intravascular ultrasound-derived coronary atheroma burden. Circulation. 2008;117:2458-66. (Pubitemid 351670452)
93. Brener SJ, Ivanc TB, Poliszczuk R, Chen M, Tuzcu EM, Hu T, et al. Antihypertensive therapy and regression of coronary artery disease: insights from the Comparison of Amlodipine Versus Enalapril to Limit Occurrences of Thrombosis (CAMELOT) and Norvasc for Regression of Manifest Atherosclerotic Lesions by Intravascular Sonographic Evaluation (NORMALISE) trials. Am Heart J. 2006;152:1059-63. (Pubitemid 44856714)