Intimal hyperplasia is the thickening of the
tunica intima
The tunica intima (New Latin "inner coat"), or intima for short, is the innermost tunica (layer) of an artery or vein. It is made up of one layer of endothelial cells and is supported by an internal elastic lamina. The endothelial cells are in ...
of a blood vessel as a complication of a reconstruction procedure or
endarterectomy
Endarterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the atheromatous ''plaque'' material, or blockage, in the lining of an artery constricted by the buildup of deposits. It is carried out by separating the plaque from the arterial wall.
It was firs ...
.
Intimal hyperplasia is the universal response of a vessel to injury, it is a restenosis and this is an important reason of late bypass graft failure, particularly in vein and synthetic vascular grafts.
Cause
Intimal hyperplasia is due to a dysfunction of endothelial cells which results in a reprogramming of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). As a result, VSMCs proliferate and change their phenotype
h1>
Possible treatment
A possible treatment to avoid this could be hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) works as a vasculoprotective gasotransmitter in human body but is also tested to reduced intimal hyperplasia. There are different kinds of H2S donors: NaHS (the reference in scientific literature despite the fact it is too toxic to use it in human patients) and STS (already used in patient to treat cyanide poisoning).
See also
*
Hyperplasia
Hyperplasia (from ancient Greek ὑπέρ ''huper'' 'over' + πλάσις ''plasis'' 'formation'), or hypergenesis, is an enlargement of an organ or tissue caused by an increase in the amount of organic tissue that results from cell proliferati ...
*
Medical grafting
Grafting refers to a surgical procedure to move tissue from one site to another on the body, or from another creature, without bringing its own blood supply with it. Instead, a new blood supply grows in after it is placed. A similar technique ...
References
Déglise S, Bechelli C, Allagnat F. Vascular smooth muscle cells in intimal hyperplasia, an update. Front Physiol. 2023 Jan 4;13:1081881. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1081881. PMID: 36685215; PMCID: PMC984560
External links
''"Intimal hyperplasia, the obstacle in bypass grafts''"
Diseases of arteries, arterioles and capillaries
{{circulatory-disease-stub