Early results of the SPIRIT II study showed that the XIENCE V stent was superior to the Taxus stent in six-month findings on angiography and trended better on one-year clinical outcomes. Now, a new analysis shows that after two years, the investigational everolimus-coated XIENCE V stent may continue to hold a clinical edge over its paclitaxel-coated competitor.

A new medication that researchers had hoped would reduce the risk of arterial renarrowing after stenting has turned in a disappointing performance in a multicenter clinical trial, but the multi-reservoir stent that was used to deliver the drug is still considered promising.

Treatment with the antibiotic myriocin can halt the growth of established arterial plaques in mice, researchers report.

Patients with arterial disease have relatively high rates of experiencing a cardiovascular event (such as heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death) within one year, and these increase with the number of arterial locations afflicted, according to a large, international study in the March 21 issue of JAMA.