FOAM study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A flow cytometric and optical coherence analysis of the role of microparticles as determinants of plaque instability in acute coronary syndrome (FOAM study).
IRAS ID
138991
Contact name
ROBY RAKHIT
Contact email
Research summary
Humans may develop coronary artery disease (CAD) due to deposition of lipid rich material in the lining of the coronary artery. This process is called atherosclerotic plaque formation. There are different types of plaque; Stable and vulnerable. The clinical presentation of patients with CAD differs based up on the type of plaque. Whilst patients with stable plaque present with angina it is those with vulnerable plaques that present with heart attack. The precise cause for heart attack in this cohort of patients is due to disruption of vulnerable plaque leading to clot formation and coronary artery occlusion. The precise trigger for plaque disruption is unknown but likely to be inflammatory. Some anatomical features such as soft plaques with thin cap and lot of small new blood vessels may contribute to plaque vulnerability and disruption.
It is believed that formation; rupture of vulnerable plaque and subsequent thrombus formation is driven by microparticles (MP).
MP are subcellular particles (< 10um) which may be responsible for augmenting inflammation, thrombosis and cellular damage during heart attack. MP are derived from a variety of cell types and play different roles in the pathogenesis of heart attack. By promoting inflammation MP may also play a role in microvascular dysfunction (MvD) – inability of small arteries in the heart in carrying out vital functions such as delivering oxygen and nutrients to cells of the heart .Our study outline is to investigate MP expression in heart attack by flow cytometry on blood samples obtained prior to coronary angioplasty procedure. At the same time we will carefully characterise the morphology of the ruptured plaque by using optical coherence tomography (OCT), a state of the art intra-coronary imaging tool that uses infrared light. We also intend to measure indices of MvD at the same time by a special pressure-temperature sensor wire.
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0387
Date of REC Opinion
24 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion