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Circulation. 2001;104:387-392
doi: 10.1161/hc2901.093188
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(Circulation. 2001;104:387.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.


Clinical Investigation and Reports

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

Michael Schartl, MD*; Wolfgang Bocksch, MD*; Dietmar H. Koschyk, MD; Wolfram Voelker, MD; Karl R. Karsch, MD; Jörg Kreuzer, MD; Dirk Hausmann, MD; Stephan Beckmann, MD; Michael Gross, MD; , for the German Atorvastatin Intravascular Ultrasound Study Investigators (GAIN){dagger}

From the Universitaetsklinikum Charité, Campus Virchow, and German Heart Institute Berlin (M.S., W.B.), Krankenhaus am Urban (S.B.), and Universitaetsklinikum Charité Campus Buch und Franz-Volhard-Klinik (M.G.), Berlin; Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (D.H.K.), Hamburg; Klinikum der Stadt Mannheim (W.V.), Mannheim; Medizinische Klinik der Eberhard-Karls Universitaet Tuebingen (K.R.K.), Tuebingen; Medizinische Klinik der Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg (J.K.), Heidelberg; and Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (D.H.), Hannover, Germany.

Reprint requests to Prof Dr M. Schartl, Universitaetsklinikum Charité, Campus Virchow, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. E-mail michael.schartl{at}charite.de

Background— We studied whether lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin (target LDL cholesterol [LDL-C] <100 mg/dL) compared with a moderate treatment regimen that used other lipid-lowering drugs led to a lesser progression of atherosclerosis and to different changes in plaque echogenicity in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods and Results— This study was a 12-month, open-label, randomized, multicenter trial, which used serial 3D intracoronary ultrasound to calculate plaque volume and plaque echogenicity. After transcatheter therapy, 131 patients were randomized (atorvastatin n=65, usual care n=66). The target plaque had to be a minor lesion (ie, a diameter stenosis of <50% on angiography). After 12 months, mean LDL-C was reduced from 155 to 86 mg/dL in the atorvastatin group and from 166 to 140 mg/dL in the usual care group. Mean absolute plaque volume showed a larger increase in the usual care group compared with the atorvastatin group (usual care 9.6±28.1 mm3, atorvastatin 1.2±30.4 mm3; P=0.191). The hyperechogenicity index of the plaque increased to a larger extent for the atorvastatin group than for the usual care group, with a significant treatment effect for the percent change (atorvastatin 42.2%, usual care 10.1%; P=0.021).

Conclusions— One year of lipid-lowering therapy to <100 mg/dL LDL-C most likely led to a slowdown of plaque growth of minor lesions. The significantly larger increase in plaque hyperechogenicity is most likely due to a change in plaque composition.


Key Words: arteriosclerosis • coronary disease • lipids • plaque • ultrasonics




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