Objectives To characterize the morphological features of plaque erosion and calcified nodule in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Background Plaque erosion and calcified nodule have not been systematically investigated in vivo. Methods One hundred and twenty-six patients with ACS who had undergone pre-intervention OCT imaging were included. The culprit lesions were classified as plaque rupture (PR), erosion (OCT-erosion), calcified nodule (OCT-CN), or others using a new set of diagnostic criteria for OCT. Results The incidences of PR, OCT-erosion, and OCT-CN were 43.7%, 31.0%, and 7.9%, respectively. Patients with OCT-erosion were the youngest compared with those with PR and OCT-CN (53.8±13.1 years vs. 60.6±11.5 years, 65.1±5.0 years, p=0.005). Compared with patients with PR, presentation with non-ST-segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) was more common in patients with OCT-erosion (61.5% vs. 29.1%, p=0.008) and OCT-CN (100% vs. 29.1%, p<0.001). OCT-erosion had a lower frequency of lipid plaque (43.6% vs. 100%, p<0.001), thicker fibrous cap (169.3±99.1 μm vs. 60.4±16.6 μm, p<0.001), and smaller lipid arc (202.8±73.6° vs. 275.8±60.4°, p<0.001) than PR. The diameter stenosis was least severe in OCT-erosion followed by OCT-CN and PR (55.4±14.7% vs. 66.1±13.5% vs. 68.8±12.9%, p<0.001). Conclusions OCT is a promising modality for identifying OCT-erosion and OCT-CN in vivo. OCT-erosion is a frequent finding in patients with ACS, especially in those with NSTE-ACS and younger patients. OCT-CN is the least common etiology for ACS and is more common in older patients.

Background-Whether triple antiplatelet therapy is superior or similar to dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention in the era of drug-eluting stents remains unclear. Methods and Results-A total of 4203 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents were analyzed retrospectively in the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR). They received either dual (aspirin plus clopidogrel; dual group; nϭ2569) or triple (aspirin plus clopidogrel plus cilostazol; triple group; nϭ1634) antiplatelet therapy. The triple group received additional cilostazol at least for 1 month. Various major adverse cardiac events at 8 months were compared between these 2 groups. Compared with the dual group, the triple group had a similar incidence of major bleeding events but a significantly lower incidence of in-hospital mortality. Clinical outcomes at 8 months showed that the triple group had significantly lower incidences of cardiac death (adjusted odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32 to 0.84; Pϭ0.007), total death (adjusted odds ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.41 to 0.89; Pϭ0.010), and total major adverse cardiac events (adjusted odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 0.95; Pϭ0.019) than the dual group. Subgroup analysis showed that older (Ͼ65 years old), female, and diabetic patients got more benefits from triple antiplatelet therapy than their counterparts who received dual antiplatelet therapy. Conclusions-Triple antiplatelet therapy seems to be superior to dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents. These results may provide the rationale for the use of triple antiplatelet therapy in these patients. (Circulation. 2009;119:3207-3214.)

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Recent studies suggest that the intracoronary administration of bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may improve left ventricular function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, there is still argumentative for the safety and efficacy of MSCs in the AMI setting. We thus performed a randomized pilot study to investigate the safety and efficacy of MSCs in patients with AMI. Eighty patients with AMI after successful reperfusion therapy were randomly assigned and received an intracoronary administration of autologous BM-derived MSCs into the infarct related artery at 1 month. During follow-up period, 58 patients completed the trial. The primary endpoint was changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) at 6 month. We also evaluated treatment-related adverse events. The absolute improvement in the LVEF by SPECT at 6 month was greater in the BM-derived MSCs group than in the control group (5.9%±8.5% vs 1.6%±7.0%; P=0.037). There was no treatment-related toxicity during intracoronary administration of MSCs. No significant adverse cardiovascular events occurred during follow-up. In conclusion, the intracoronary infusion of human BM-derived MSCs at 1 month is tolerable and safe with modest improvement in LVEF at 6-month follow-up by SPECT. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT01392105)

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