Pseudoaneurysms after percutaneous vascular access are common and potentially fatal if left untreated. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and risk factors associated with access site pseudoaneurysms after endovascular intervention for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) under a routine postintervention ultrasound (US) surveillance protocol.

Acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy (AUPVP) is a frequent cause of vestibular loss. Several aetiologies have been proposed, but the exact mechanism remains unknown. The aim of this study is a systematic analysis of the literature evaluating the vascular aetiology of AUPVP. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase, including articles published from January 1st, 2010 to November 30th, 2020. Two reviewers independently selected articles investigating a link between AUPVP and vascular disease. The following information was extracted: year of publication, country, level of evidence, assessed vascular risk factors and number of patients. A total of 450 articles was obtained. Eleven articles were retained with 100% agreement between the two reviewers. In a pooled population of 805 patients, the main results were the higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and higher prevalence of vascular risk factors among AUPVP patients. A meta-analysis was not performed because the studies were too heterogeneous in terms of methodology. Indirect arguments for vascular mechanisms in AUPVP were found. These findings indicate that larger prospective well-controlled studies are needed to clarify the vascular aetiology of AUPVP.

The PANDORA study has recently examined the prevalence of low ankle brachial index (ABI) in subjects with moderate risk of cardiovascular disease. This sub-analysis of the PANDORA study examines the prevalence of asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD), as determined by ABI, in Italian subjects presenting with moderate cardiovascular risk, in the absence of diabetes or overt vascular disease.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have worsened clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention; however, limited evidence exists in patients undergoing peripheral vascular intervention (PVI).

Peripheral vascular diseases (PVDs) represent a significant burden on global human health and healthcare systems. With continued growth in obesity and diabetes, it is likely that the incidence of these conditions will increase. As many PVDs remain undiagnosed, low-cost and easy to use diagnostic methods are required. This work uses newly developed wearable electro-resistive morphic sensors to assess venous and arterial competence in the lower limbs of 36 healthy subjects. Comparison of this HeMo device was made to currently available benchtop light reflection rheography and photoplethymography devices. Results indicate that HeMo can detect the physiological signals of interest for both chronic venous insufficiency and peripheral arterial disease and all subjects were interpreted as healthy by each system. However, measurement repeatability of HeMo was highlighted as an issue that requires further system development. Furthermore, as HeMo captures changes in a section of limb circumference due to changes in underlying blood movement, rather than at a single point, the recorded signal is typically damped by comparison. This factor should be considered in any future developments.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been known to promote physiological angiogenesis to treat peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) by increasing the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level in endothelial cells (ECs) and preventing platelet adherence and leukocyte chemotaxis. However, the ongoing ischemic event during peripheral ischemia produces superoxide and diminishes the NO bioavailability by forming toxic peroxynitrite anion. Here we disclose an efficacious hybrid molecule 4-(5-Amino-1,2,3-oxadiazol-3-yl)-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinol (SA-2) containing both antioxidant and NO donor functionalities that provide a therapeutic level of NO necessary to promote angiogenesis and to protect ECs against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. Compound SA-2 scavenged reactive oxygen species, inhibited proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and promoted the tube formation from ECs. Copolymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with SA-2 provided a sustained release of NO over days, improved aqueous stability in serum, protected ECs against oxidative stress, and enhanced angiogenesis under stress conditions as compared to that of the control in the in vitro matrigel tube formation assay. These results indicated the potential use of SA-2 nanoparticles as an alternative therapy to treat PAD.

Altered adipokine secretion in dysfunctional adipose tissue facilitates the development of atherosclerotic diseases including lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). Asprosin is a recently identified adipokine and displays potent regulatory role in metabolism, but the relationship between asprosin and lower extremity PAD remains uninvestigated.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an established risk factor for poor cardiovascular outcomes and coronary artery disease, but its influence on the development of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is not well established. The aim of our study was to understand the mutual prevalence of OSA and PAD and any reported statistical association between the two conditions.

Evidence comparing fibrin sealants (FSs) in surgery are limited. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of FSs, and manual compression in peripheral vascular surgery.

Cell therapy for treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a promising approach but is limited by poor cell survival when cells are delivered using saline. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds as a vehicle for the delivery of human stromal vascular fraction (SVF), and then to assess the efficacy of the cell-seeded scaffolds in a murine model of PAD. Flow cytometric analysis was performed to characterize the phenotype of SVF cells from freshly isolated lipoaspirate, as well as after attachment onto aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds. Flow cytometry results demonstrated that the SVF consisted of 33.1 ± 9.6% CD45+ cells, a small fraction of CD45-/CD31+ (4.5 ± 3.1%) and 45.4 ± 20.0% of CD45-/CD31-/CD34+ cells. Although the subpopulations of SVF did not change significantly after attachment to the aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds, protein secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) significantly increased by six-fold, compared to SVF cultured in suspension. Importantly, when SVF-seeded scaffolds were transplanted into immunodeficient mice with induced hindlimb ischemia, the cell-seeded scaffolds induced a significant higher mean perfusion ratio after 14 days, compared to cells delivered using saline. Together, these results show that aligned nanofibrillar scaffolds promoted cellular attachment, enhanced the secretion of VEGF from attached SVF cells, and their implantation with attached SVF cells stimulated blood perfusion recovery. These findings have important therapeutic implications for the treatment of PAD using SVF.

The Outcome measures for vascular malformation (OVAMA) group reached consensus on the core outcome domains for the core outcome set (COS) for peripheral vascular malformations (venous, lymphatic and arteriovenous malformations). However, it is unclear which instruments should be used to measure these domains. Therefore, our aims were to identify all outcome measurement instruments available for vascular malformations, and to evaluate their measurement properties.

To investigate the characteristics of the peripheral T cell immune response of patients at different stages of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI).

A 65-year-old man with an occluded popliteal artery aneurysm and calf claudication underwent PET/CT imaging with F-NaF to assess the status of active microcalcification in the aneurysm site and additional lower extremity arteries. CT imaging revealed macrocalcification of the aneurysm that colocalized with elevated retention of F-NaF on PET images. PET/CT detected additional distal arterial sites with focal uptake of F-NaF that did not coincide with CT-detectable macrocalcification. This report highlights a case of active microcalcification in an occlusive peripheral aneurysm using PET/CT. PET/CT may provide molecular insight into the remodeling of lower extremity aneurysms and atherosclerotic lesions.

Patients with COPD have increased respiratory loads and altered blood gases, both of which affect vascular function and sympathetic activity. Sleep, particularly rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, is known to exacerbate hypoxia and respiratory loads. Therefore, we hypothesize that nasal high flow (NHF), which lowers ventilatory loads, reduces sympathetic activity during sleep and that this effect depends on COPD severity.

The development of pharmacological therapies for mitochondrial diseases is hampered by the lack of tissue-level and circulating biomarkers reflecting effects of compounds on endothelial and mitochondrial function. This phase 0 study aimed to identify biomarkers differentiating between patients with mitochondrial disease and healthy volunteers (HVs). In this cross-sectional case-control study, eight participants with mitochondrial disease and eight HVs matched on age, sex, and body mass index underwent study assessments consisting of blood collection for evaluation of plasma and serum biomarkers, mitochondrial function in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and an array of imaging methods for assessment of (micro)circulation. Plasma biomarkers GDF-15, IL-6, NT-proBNP, and cTNI were significantly elevated in patients compared to HVs, as were several clinical chemistry and hematology markers. No differences between groups were found for mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial reactive oxygen production, oxygen consumption rate, or extracellular acidification rate in PBMCs. Imaging revealed significantly higher nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide-hydrogen (NADH) content in skin as well as reduced passive leg movement-induced hyperemia in patients. This study confirmed results of earlier studies regarding plasma biomarkers in mitochondrial disease and identified several imaging techniques that could detect functional differences at the tissue level between participants with mitochondrial disease and HVs. However, assays of mitochondrial function in PBMCs did not show differences between participants with mitochondrial disease and HVs, possibly reflecting compensatory mechanisms and heterogeneity in mutational load. In future clinical trials, using a mix of imaging and blood-based biomarkers may be advisable, as well as combining these with an in vivo challenge to disturb homeostasis.

The anti-aging function of Klotho gene has been implicated in age-related diseases. The physiological importance of Klotho in the progression of arterial stiffness with aging, however, remains unclear. The goal of this study is to determine the correlation of circulating Klotho with early age-related aortic stiffening and peripheral hemodynamics. We measured serum Klotho levels in a group of pigs with age ranges of 1.5-9 years and investigated the relationship between Klotho levels and biomarkers of aortic stiffening with aging, including aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx), and pulse pressure (PP). The effects of aortic stiffening on peripheral vascular resistance, compliance, and function were also evaluated. We found that increased aortic stiffness occurred at middle age (>5 years old), as evidenced by an increase in PWV and AIx (p < 0.001), but with no changes in blood pressure and PP. With advancing age, increased femoral vascular resistance positively correlated with aortic PWV and AIx (p < 0.01). No significant difference in endothelium function and arterial compliance for femoral and small peripheral arteries was observed between young and middle-aged groups. The serum Klotho levels were lower in young and higher in middle-aged pigs (p < 0.001), and a positive correlation was found between Klotho and aortic PWV, AIx, and femoral vascular resistance (p < 0.01). Our findings suggest that early-aged aortic stiffening has adverse effect on peripheral hemodynamics, independent of blood pressure levels. Elevated Klotho secretion was associated with increased aortic stiffness and peripheral vascular resistance with aging.

Aortic diseases in some orphan rheumatological diseases require medical, surgical or peripheral endovascular intervention because they can be catastrophic. Objectives: to analyze the main clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA), Marfan syndrome (MS) and similar conditions that were treated with cardiothoracic surgery and peripheral endovascular intervention.

Neurotrophic factors, currently administered orally or by intravenous drip or intramuscular injection, are the main method for the treatment of peripheral nerve crush injury. However, the low effective drug concentration arriving at the injury site results in unsatisfactory outcomes. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a treatment method that can increase the effective drug concentration in the injured area. In this study, we first fabricated a gelatin modified by methacrylic anhydride hydrogel and loaded it with vascular endothelial growth factor that allowed the controlled release of the neurotrophic factor. This modified gelatin exhibited good physical and chemical properties, biocompatibility and supported the adhesion and proliferation of RSC96 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. When injected into the epineurium of crushed nerves, the composite hydrogel in the rat sciatic nerve crush injury model promoted nerve regeneration, functional recovery and vascularization. The results showed that the modified gelatin gave sustained delivery of vascular endothelial growth factors and accelerated the repair of crushed peripheral nerves.

Several studies have investigated the association of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism with peripheral vascular disease (PVD); however, the results remain controversial. Therefore, we conducted the current meta-analysis to evaluate this relationship in the general population of different ethnicities.

Safflower extract and aceglutamide (SA) has been used clinically for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral embolism, hemorrhage, and mental deterioration. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of SA injection in the recovery of peripheral innervations of diabetic mice.