macrophage presence (P ¼ .002) and MMP9 (P < .0001) activity were increased in RAAA tissue. Comment: Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this paper is the development of a reliable model of infrarenal AAA rupture in the rat. There model compared to previous models did not cause aortic dissection and was associated with mural thrombus in nearly every control and ruptured case in the study. Histologically their model was associated with increased markers of inflammation at the sites of rupture, and new sites of rupture were detected by 18 F-FDG imaging. In human studies there is also suggestion that positive 18 F-FDG uptake in AAAs may be a marker of potential rupture with increased levels of 18 F-FDG uptake in patients requiring urgent AAA repair either due to rapid expansion or rupture (Saka
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