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Acute Aortic Disease.. - Index of

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Future Prospects 349<br />

1<br />

0<br />

1<br />

Y: [PCA component 20(8.324% variance)]<br />

Z: [PCA component 3 (5.972% variance)]<br />

0<br />

1<br />

Case<br />

Control<br />

X: [PCA component 1 (62.27% variance)]<br />

Figure 2 (See color insert) RNA “Signature” analysis allows effective discrimination (in<br />

three- dimensional space) <strong>of</strong> aneurysm patients (“cases”) from controls, on the basis <strong>of</strong><br />

examination <strong>of</strong> peripheral blood alone.<br />

evidence suggest, this is only the beginning (4,5). Predictions are that CT scanners<br />

will become so compact that they will be carried by paramedics in the field and on<br />

ambulances, relaying images to the emergency department from the moment <strong>of</strong><br />

arrival on the scene. Diagnosis will be expedited dramatically. Catheters may be<br />

replaced by “remote-controlled electronic devices that … like microscopic<br />

missiles, travel through vessels to reach organs or tissues”(4). These devices are<br />

powered by the energy <strong>of</strong> an MRI field. Tissue imaging and molecular imaging<br />

are on the horizon. Improved imaging has been the cornerstone <strong>of</strong> advancement in<br />

the diagnosis and treatment <strong>of</strong> aneurysms and dissections. More <strong>of</strong> the same<br />

appears to be in store.<br />

BIOMARKERS FOR CLINICAL FOLLOWUP, EVENT PREDICTION,<br />

AND SURGICAL DECISION MAKING<br />

As we have seen in Chapter 12, on the natural history <strong>of</strong> thoracic aortic aneurysms,<br />

the diameter <strong>of</strong> the aorta is key in determining the patient’s future and in<br />

our making the decision for pre-emptive surgical extirpation <strong>of</strong> the aneurysmal<br />

aorta. However, dimensional criteria, while very helpful, are far from ideal. The<br />

potential to use biomarkers to study the progression <strong>of</strong> aortic disease is very real.<br />

It is now becoming clear that serum levels <strong>of</strong> matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)<br />

are quite reflective <strong>of</strong> tissue levels for both abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms<br />

(see Chapters 8 and 17). This raises the potential to follow the aneurysm<br />

state by serial assessment <strong>of</strong> serum MMPs. One study (6) already shows that<br />

MMP serum levels rise as aneurysms increase in size. Another (7) suggests that<br />

MMP rise may precede or accompany acute aortic dissection. Our “RNA<br />

Signature” pr<strong>of</strong>ile may also change over time. It may be that a “blip” in one or<br />

more <strong>of</strong> these potential biomarkers may herald the onset <strong>of</strong> the acute aortic events

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