Charlottesville, Va., September 26, 2006 -- The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $5.5 million grant over five years to the University of Virginia Health System to develop new, high tech imaging methods to detect and treat atherosclerosis, a disease where plaque builds up in the inner lining of the arteries leading to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
About one in every three adult men and women in the United States has some form of cardiovascular disease and it is the number one cause of death, according to the American Heart Association, one reason it is so important to treat risk factors early before a person's life is in real danger.
The NIH funds will help UVa researchers develop new contrast agents that one day may be used during simple ultrasound examinations to detect and treat people with atherosclerotic plaque. Contrast agents are compounds that improve the visibility of the body's internal structures in an ultrasound or x-ray image. The research promises to help people save money on their health care bill since ultrasound is the most economical way to image inside the body.
The agents being developed at UVa to image atherosclerosis are currently being tested in animals. The tiny contrast agents are smaller than a typical blood cell and look like miniscule bubbles, seen only under a microscope, with octopus-like arms that help them stick to the artery lining. They are modeled on the body's own leukocytes, white blood cells that adhere remarkably well to the blood vessel wall under flow, a necessary step to allow them to fight off infection.
"Our research has found that manufacturing contrast agents that have similar adhesion properties as leukocytes allows for better adhesion under flow, promising better detection of plaque in the arteries," said Dr. Klaus Ley, professor of biomedical engineering, molecular physiology and biological physics and director of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascula
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Contact: Megan Rowe
meganrowe@virginia.edu
434-924-5679
University of Virginia Health System
27-Sep-2006