Alice in Wonderland of statin therapy for small abdominal aortic aneurysm

Exploring the Effect and Mechanism of Si-Miao-Yong-An Decoction on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Based on Mice Experiment and Bioinformatics Analysis

Background

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a fatal disease characterized by high morbidity and mortality in old population. Globally, effective drugs for AAA are still limited. Si-Miao-Yong-An decoction (SMYAD), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula with a high medical value, was reported to be successfully used in an old AAA patient. Thus, we reason that SMYAD may serve as a potential anti-AAA regime.

Objective

The exact effects and detailed mechanisms of SMYAD on AAA were explored by using the experimental study and bioinformatics analysis.

Methods

Firstly, C57BL/6N mice induced by Bap and Ang II were utilized to reproduce the AAA model, and the effects of SMYAD were systematically assessed according to histology, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Then, network pharmacology was applied to identify the biological processes, pathways, and hub targets of SMYAD against AAA; moreover, molecular docking was utilized to identify the binding ability and action targets.

Results

In an animal experiment, SMYAD was found to effectively alleviate the degree of pathological expansion of abdominal aorta and reduce the incidence of Bap/Ang II-induced AAA, along with reducing the damage to elastic lamella, attenuating infiltration of macrophage, and lowering the circulating IL-6 level corresponding to the animal study, and network pharmacology revealed the detailed mechanisms of SMYAD on AAA that were related to pathways of inflammatory response, defense response, apoptotic, cell migration and adhesion, and reactive oxygen species metabolic process. Then, seven targets, IL-6, TNF, HSP90AA1, RELA, PTGS2, ESR1, and MMP9, were identified as hub targets of SMYAD against AAA. Furthermore, molecular docking verification revealed that the active compounds of SMYAD had good binding ability and clear binding site with core targets related to AAA formation.

Conclusion

SMYAD can suppress AAA development through multicompound, multitarget, and multipathway, which provides a research direction for further study.

Failure to Preserve the Internal Iliac Artery During Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair is Associated with Mortality and Ischemic Complications

OBJECTIVE

Open or endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms may involve the sacrifice of the internal iliac artery. The effect of internal iliac artery exclusion on ischemic complications and overall mortality was investigated.

METHODS

Data of 326 patients who underwent elective open surgical or endovascular treatment for a non-ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm between January 2010 and December 2019 in a tertiary hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Ischemic complications included buttock claudication and spinal ischemia, including paraparesis, ischemic colitis, lower limb paresthesia, and skin necrosis. Their duration and mortality during this period were investigated.

RESULTS

Nearly 50% of patients (148; 45.4%) underwent endovascular aortic repair and 178 (54.6%) underwent open surgery. The median patient age was 78.00 years (range: 31-94 years). The median follow-up period was 1,140 days (range: 0-4,757 days). A total of 50 patients (15.3%) died during follow-up. Bilateral internal iliac arteries were preserved in 187 patients (57.4%); a single internal iliac artery was preserved in 86 patients (26.4%), and no internal iliac artery was preserved in 53 patients (16.3%). Ischemic complications occurred in 57 patients (17.5%). According to the multivariable analysis, failure to preserve bilateral internal iliac arteries (hazard ratio: 8.65, 95% confidence interval: 4.31-17.36, p<0.01), management of the internal iliac artery (hazard ratio: 3.05, 95% confidence interval: 2.17-4.28, p<0.01), and hyperlipidemia (hazard ratio: 2.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-4.17, p=0.04) affected ischemic complications. Further, according to the univariable analysis, patients experienced more ischemic complications when a single (hazard ratio: 6.97; 95% confidence interval: 3.74-13.02; p<0.01) or none of the internal iliac arteries were preserved (hazard ratio: 8.88; 95% confidence interval: 4.12-19.16; p<0.01) than when both internal iliac arteries were preserved. Moreover, according to the multivariable analysis, stage 5 chronic kidney disease (hazard ratio: 2.7, 95% confidence interval: 1.09-6.14, p=0.03), age > 75 years (hazard ratio: 2.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.12-5.49, p=0.03), cerebrovascular accident (hazard ratio: 1.95, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-3.78, p=0.05), and failure to preserve bilateral internal iliac arteries (hazard ratio: 1.91, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-3.46, p=0.04) were associated with higher mortality rates following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

CONCLUSIONS

Internal iliac artery exclusion is a risk factor for ischemic complications and overall mortality. Regarding abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, preservation of the internal iliac artery as much as possible is recommended.

9.1 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm in a 69-year-old male patient

We are presenting a case of one of the largest un-ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm ever reported. Presented here is a rare case of a 69-year-old active smoker male with history of hypertension and incidental diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm of 6.2 cm in 2003, who refused surgical intervention at the time of diagnosis with continued smoking habit and was managed medically. Patient was subsequently admitted in 2012 to the hospital due to unresponsiveness secondary to hypoglycemia along with diagnosis of massive symptomatic pulmonary embolism and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. With the further inpatient workup along with known history of abdominal aortic aneurysm, subsequent computed tomography scan of abdomen pelvis revealed increased in size of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm to 9.1 cm of without any signs of rupture. Patient was unable to undergo any surgical intervention this time because of his medical instability and was eventually passed away under hospice care.