Statins against stenosis

Intimal hyperplasia (IH) occurs in a considerable number of cases of blood vessel reconstruction by stenting or balloon angioplasty, venous bypass grafting, and arteriovenous dialysis accesses. It frequently leads to vessel occlusion and potential life-threatening graft failure.

To fight hyperplasia, we designed a delivery system for perivascular, local and sustained application of a statin. The device is able to release the drug over several months thanks to microparticles reservoirs. The derivatized hyaluronic acid gel that carries the microparticles may adhere to the tissue to ensure a long-lasting effect. Following successful proof-of-concept in vitro and in mice, promising results in a large animal model pave the way to an effective solution for the prevention of IH.