Carotid Atherosclerosis
Conditions
Keywords
atherosclerotic plaque, autonomic nervous system, immune system, autophagy
Brief summary
The hypothesis of this study is that neural regulations of the atherosclerotic plaque, identified in the murine model of atherosclerosis, could also exist in human pathology. The dysregulation status of the autonomic nervous system is typical of several cardiovascular diseases, but the role it exerts in the modulation of important mechanisms at the basis of the atherosclerotic process progression has not been investigated yet. The main aim of this study will be to investigate, in the atherosclerotic plaque, the alterations of inflammatory and immune processes, the neural modulations and the presence of dysregulations of the autophagic process. The investigators will also associate the potential presence of neural modulations of the plaque to its stability/instability, from a clinical-translational point of view. Finally, the investigators aim at providing a solid basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies, which could reduce the elevated health and welfare costs for the clinical management of cardiovascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis.
Interventions
OTHERNo interventions
No interventions - observational study
Sponsors
Neuromed IRCCS
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 90 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age ≥ 45 and ≤ 90 years; * patients with severe (70-99%) carotid stenosis, diagnosed with color doppler echography or angio-MRI or angiography; * written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
* carotid stenosis \<70% at carotid bifurcation or diagnosed with color doppler echography or angio-MRI or angiography; * severe neoplasia; * participation to other clinical trial, ongoing or terminated less than one month before enrolment in this study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Characterization of the neuro-modulation of immune system in atherosclerosis | At enrollment | Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence of the autonomic nervous and immune systems in the atherosclerotic plaque, and flow cytometry analysis of circulating immune cells. |
| Characterization of the autophagic process and correlation with neural modulations of the stability/instability plaque | At enrollment | Expression of autophagic markers and immunohistochemical analysis of the atherosclerotic plaque. |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
Primary ContactGiuseppe Lembo, MD, PhD
Outcome results
None listed