>>THURSDAY: TCT WRAP-UP ISSUE

Cypher/Taxus: No Increase in Thrombosis
In single de novo native coronary lesions 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm in diameter and 30 mm or less in length, polymer-based sirolimus-eluting stents result in no significant increase in stent thrombosis compared to otherwise equivalent bare-metal stents. Similar results were demonstrated for paclitaxel-eluting stents.
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Progenitor Cells Produce Positive Outcomes
Treatment with enriched bone-marrow-derived progenitor cells was associated with a significant improvement in the combined outcome of death, MI or rehospitalization for heart failure.
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Roundtable Takes on ‘Conflict of Interest’ Debate
Representatives from academia, research, industry and regulatory agencies gathered Tuesday evening for a roundtable discussion on a controversial issue in health care: the potential impact of conflicts of interest.
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ACUITY PCI: Bivalirudin Monotherapy is Effective
Among patients with moderate- and high-risk acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous intervention, replacing heparin and GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors with bivalirudin alone improved overall event-free survival in the ACUITY PCI trial.
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New Techniques Developed for Bifurcation Lesions
Emerging issues in the area of bifurcation lesions continue to be of interest to interventional cardiologists, even as the utility of double-stenting is debated.
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Detection of Vulnerable Plaque Crucial to MI Prevention
New technologies such as bevacizumab-eluting stents, vulnerable plaque-specific stents and photodynamic therapy may help prevent myocardial infarctions and mortality due to vulnerable plaque, according to Gregg W. Stone, MD, chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.
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Safety Profile of Drug-eluting Stents Similar to Bare-metal Stents
An article published Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal inaccurately characterized two major drug-eluting stents as unsafe, despite a comprehensive review of data that suggests otherwise.
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ZOMAXX I: Mixed Results With Zotarolimus-eluting Stent
The ZoMaxx zotarolimus-eluting stent (Abbott Vascular Devices) failed to achieve its noninferiority endpoint of in-segment late loss in a comparison with the paclitaxel-eluting Taxus stent, according to Bernard Chevalier, MD, of the Centre Cardiologie du Nord in St. Denis, France.
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Cypher More Effective for Long Lesions
The rate of in-segment restenosis was 77% lower among patients with long native coronary lesions treated with sirolimus-eluting stents (Cypher, Cordis/Johnson & Johnson) compared with patients treated with paclitaxel-eluting stents (Taxus, Boston Scientific).
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Novel BioSTAR Implant Excels in BEST Trial
A first-in-man analysis of the BioSTAR, a bioabsorbable septal repair implant for the closure of atrial septal defects and patent foramen ovale, easily met all its endpoints of feasibility, safety and efficacy.
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Topol to Head New Program at Scripps Health
Eric J. Topol, MD, will lead the newly created Translational Science Institute and Genomic Medicine program at Scripps Health in San Diego. As Chief Academic Officer, Topol will head up the new Translational Research Institute and serve as a senior consultant in the Division of Cardiology at Scripps Clinic.
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ABSORB: Bioabsorbable Coronary Stents Successfully and Safely Deployed
New first-in-man data indicate that a fully bioabsorable drug-eluting coronary stent was successfully and safely deployed in patients with single, de novo, native coronary artery lesions.
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THUNDER: Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Lowers Restenosis
The paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter Paccocath was safe and reduced restenosis in the superficial femoral artery, according to six-month data from the prospective, randomized THUNDER trial. Gunnar Tepe, MD, of the department of diagnostic radiology at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tubingen in Germany, presented primary and secondary data from THUNDER.
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MEDISTRA: Low Risk of Adverse Events with Excel Stent
The lower-cost Excel sirolimus-eluting stent was associated with improved long-term outcomes compared with other commercially available drug-eluting stents, according to the MEDISTRA trial. Teguh Santoso, MD, from the University of Indonesia Medical School in Jakarta, said Monday that “the preliminary Excel results are encouraging. The rate of major adverse clinical events was low, and there is a ‘clean’ angiographic appearance to the stent.”
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TCT 2006: Showcasing the Next Generation of Interventional Cardiology Technology
TCT is an established venue for manufacturers of interventional cardiology devices to showcase cutting-edge technology. The following guide is designed to highlight new technology presented or exhibited at TCT 2006. This review is meant to serve as a sample of the unique technology present at TCT and not as a definitive guide. For more information on any of the devices described below, please consult manufacturers’ websites.
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Pioglitazone Improved Endothelial Function
Treatment with the oral antidiabetic agent pioglitazone improved coronary endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease. None of the participants in the prospective, placebo-controlled trial had diabetes.
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Italian Cardiologist Wins Annual Young Investigator Award
This year’s recipient of the Thomas J. Linnemeier Spirit of Interventional Cardiology Young Investigator Award is Alaide Chieffo, MD, an interventional cardiologist from San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy.
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Drug-eluting Stent Technology Continues its Evolution
Many of the same issues that arose with earlier treatment interventions are resurfacing with drug-eluting stent technology and outcomes. “We’re looking for the safety we enjoyed with bare metal stents, and we want the efficacy of the drug-eluting stents,” said Peter J. Fitzgerald, MD, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
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Yock Is Career Achievement Award Winner
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) honored Paul G. Yock, MD, with this year’s TCT Career Achievement Award. Yock is the Martha Meier Weiland Professor of Medicine and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
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No Differences in CIN Shown Between Iodixanol, Iopamidol
The iso-osmolar contrast agent iodixanol demonstrated no difference in the rates of contrast-induced nephropathy compared with the low osmolar contrast agent iopamidol in high-risk patients, according to new results from the CARE trial.
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