The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 2019
Rosuvastatin attenuates bioprosthetic heart valve calcification.
There are pathophysiologic similarities between calcification and atherosclerosis because both are the product of an active inflammatory process. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of statin treatment on calcification in commercially available bioprosthetic heart valves. ⋯ Statin treatment significantly attenuated bioprosthetic heart valve calcification associated with decreasing the levels of interleukin-6 and bone morphogenetic protein 2. Thus, statin treatment might be helpful for the longevity of bioprosthetic heart valves.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Sep 2019
Impact of hybrid thoracoabdominal aortic repair on visceral and spinal cord perfusion: The new and improved SPIDER-graft.
SPIDER-graft for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair avoiding thoracotomy and extracorporeal circulation was modified, enabling reimplantation of lumbar arteries to prevent spinal cord ischemia and compared with open aortic repair (control) in a pig model. ⋯ SPIDER-graft reduced ischemic time, avoided extracorporeal circulation and thoracotomy, and improved spinal cord perfusion during thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a pig model.