Angioplasty and stenting are here to stay, says expert cardiologist
Addressing a media conference here on Saturday, he said that the mode of treatment required, be it simple medication, coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery, would depend on the situation, taking into account the procedural risks, safety concerns, immediate and long term outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.
'However, currently the available stents are thin strut drug eluting stents (DES) that release special drug into the area of treatment, reducing the chance of reoccurrence of the blocks. Special guide wires and specialty microcatheters that help in crossing totally blocked and tough old blocks have increased their procedural success to more than 95 per cent,' Dr. Reddy explained.
The senior interventional cardiologist also pointed out the use of special balloons to treat the blocks, including very thin 0.75 mm tapered tip balloons to make way through even the toughest blocks, high and ultra-high pressure balloons, cutting balloons with special stainless steel micro blades, and scoring balloons that have Nitinol to crack hard lesions. 'We also have drug-coated balloons (DCB) to treat blocks which do not need stents to be placed,' he added.
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The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Namma Clinic inaugurated in Ballari
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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
‘We focused on…': Luke Coutinho explains how a holistic approach complemented traditional medicine in managing client's pituitary tumour surgery side effects
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The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
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Bacteria are enclosed by protective cell walls, made from a unique substance called peptidoglycan. This material is absent in other life forms, including humans, which is why many antibiotics target it. A team of scientists led by Manjula Reddy at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, has found that bacteria sometimes make mistakes while building this wall. Instead of using the correct amino acid L-alanine, they occasionally use a structurally similar one called glycine. This weakens the wall and makes bacteria more vulnerable to antibiotics. These findings have been published in the PNAS journal. Also Read | CCMB team uses E. coli to study bacterial cell wall development The bacterial cell wall is made of sugars and short chains of amino acids. Dr. Reddy's team discovered that bacteria have a special enzyme called PgeF (Peptidoglycan Editing Factor) to maintain the composition of the cell using a combination of genetics and high-resolution mass-spectrometry, according to the study's first author, Shambhavi Garde. Interestingly, a similar enzyme exists in humans. Called LACC1, it has been linked to several autoinflammatory diseases — conditions where the immune system is hyperactived, said Though LACC1's role isn't fully understood, this study suggests it might be involved in how the body responds to bacterial infections. 'By studying such vulnerabilities in cell wall synthesis, new ways of blocking bacterial growth can be designed,' the scientists said in a press release.
