Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9307220019
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
The findings, which researchers describe as a surprise, came through a unique step in testing medical devices. Researchers said the studies are the first to directly compare an old form of technology with a new method, just as medicines are compared.
In this case, two teams compared angioplasty with the newer method, directional coronary atherectomy - an approach that uses a rotating cutter on the end of a catheter to shave away artery blockages.
The atherectomy device, the first of its kind, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1990. By 1992, it was used on 33,000 Americans, while 10 times that number receive standard angioplasty.
Atherectomy's apparent advantage was its ability to remove the plaque that clogs arteries. Angioplasty uses a tiny balloon to squeeze the plaque, compressing it against the sides of the artery.
While angioplasty is fast and relatively simple, it fails to work in one-third to one-half of cases. The arteries clog up again. This problem, which doctors call restenosis, is its major drawback.
In the larger of the latest studies, directed by Dr. Eric J. Topol of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, doctors randomly assigned 1,012 patients at 35 hospitals in the United States and Europe to have atherectomy or angioplasty.
The researchers concluded that "balloon angioplasty is still the preferred approach overall."
A smaller Canadian study, directed by Dr. Allan G. Adelman of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, reached similar conclusions.
Both studies were paid for by Eli Lilly and Co., which makes the atherectomy device as well as equipment used for angioplasty. They were conducted independently of the pharmaceutical firm.
by CNB