Atherosclerotic Plaques

The philosophy of this NATO Advanced Research Workshop and the monograph it has yielded is that if you put a small number of very talented and creative scientists of different backgrounds and documented accomplishments together in a cloistered place for a few days to consider a very important and timely topic, many new ideas will be generated. The keynote of this conference was the Future. By this we mean the expected future developments of highly reliable sequential quantitative measurements of atherosclerotic plaque size and components in living human subjects. Some of the best minds and the most experienced and talented individuals at the leading edges of imaging of arteries were involved; some of the best scientists and students of the atherosclerotic plaque and its components participated; and some of the leading investigators of the cell biology or, as we call it in the USA, the pathobiology of atherosclerosis, contributed important new information. All of these individuals were actively involved in the conference and each obviously had carefully prepared and was able to communicate effectively.

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Siena, Italy, June 3-7, 1990

Inhalt
Session 1.- Atherosclerosis: A Moving Target - Key Note Presentation.- A Cardiologist Looks At the Importance of Being Able to Quantify the Patient's Plaque Size.- Session 2.- Ultrasound Imaging of Atherosclerotic Lesions in Arteries of Animals: Validity and Reproduciblity.- Heterogeneous Morphological Patterns of the Fibroatheromatous Plaque and Risk Factors.- Ultrasonographic and Histomorphometric Evaluation of Endarterectomy Samples from Carotid Lesions: New Perspectives in Qualitative Evaluation of B-Mode Ultrasound Images.- How Does the Clinician Evaluate the Atherosclerotic Plaque Quantitatively?.- Session 3.- Quantitative Measurement of Atherosclerosis by Angiography: Implications for Primary Prevention.- B-Mode Imaging to Measure Carotid Artery Wall Thickness and its Relationship with Some Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis.- Quantitative Ultrasonic Imaging of the Atherosclerotic Plaque: In Vitro and Preliminary In Vivo Findings.- PET and SPECT for the Study of Atherosclerotic Diseases in Humans.- What Have We Learned about the Atherosclerotic Plaque Using Laser Radiation?.- New Techniques in Assessing the Anatomy and Function of Atherosclerosis: Promises and Pitfalls.- Session 4.- Ultrafast Cardiac MRI: Present Status.- Synchrotron Angiography: General Considerations.- Transvenous Coronary Angiography With Synchrotron Radiation.- B-Mode Ultrasound Imaging Characterization of Atherosclerosis.- NMR Microscopy: A New Technique in Atherosclerosis Research.- Session 5.- How an Understanding of HDL's Metabolism May Help us Discover New Ways to Evaluate Atherosclerosis and its Risk of Progression in the Living Patient.- The Use of Radiolabeled Low Density Lipoprotein for Evaluating Atherosclerosis: Present Status and Future Promise.- Platelet Labelling inAtherosclerosis.- Use of Monoclonal Antibodies to Fibrinogen, Fibrin, and Fibrin(ogen) Degradation Products in Atherosclerosis.- Session 6.- Quantitative Microscopic Morphometry of the Major Components of the Atherosclerotic Plaque.- Microscopic and Ultramicroscopic Methods of Identifying and Quantitating Cells in Diffuse Fibrous Arterial Thickenings and Atheromatous Plaque.- The Quantitative Analysis of Cell Motility in Cultures of Smooth Muscle Cells, Endothelial Cells, and Monocyte/Macrophages in Individual and Co-Culture Systems, Using Time-Lapse Video-Microscopy in Correlation with Progression of Atherosclerosis.- Correlation of the Matrix-Degrading Activity of Macrophages With Changes in Smooth Muscle Cell Biology in Atherogenesis.- Session 7.- Constriction and Dilatation in Atherosclerotic and Hypertensive Arteries.- Membrane Physiologic Aspects of the Adjustment of Peripheral Vascular Tone.- Effect of Native and Oxidized LDL on Vascular Tone.- Dual Control by Nerves and Endothelial Cells of Arterial Blood Flow in Atherosclerosis.- Summarizing Chapter.