Empowered Patient Podcast New Scaffold for Treating Severe Peripheral Artery Disease Below the Knee with Jennifer Jones-McMeans Abbott and Dr. Brian DeRubertis
Jennifer Jones-McMeans, divisional vice president of global clinical affairs at Abbott’s vascular business, and Dr. Brian DeRubertis, a doctor at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, shine a light on peripheral artery disease and critical limb-threatening ischemia where artery blockage restricts blood flow to the lower legs. Abbott has developed the Esprit, a dissolving scaffold that opens up the artery in the blocked area and elutes a drug that slows disease progression. Their LIFE-BTK trial demonstrated success in a diverse patient population and is a significant new treatment option for CLTI.
Brian explains, "One of the things that I’ll say is our group is starting to explore doing additional efforts at patient education with our own patients, patients who have actually been diagnosed with this disease, and educating them a little bit more about what it means to have this disease, how they can be involved in the process of trying to prevent their disease from getting worse. And the reason we’re doing this is exactly what you said. Everyone knows what a heart attack is, but very few people understand that the same process that leads to clogged arteries in the heart or blocked arteries in the heart can lead to blocked arteries in the legs. Those blockages can ultimately lead to amputation. And so, the education of patients and keeping them informed about the disease process is one important part of this."
Jennifer elaborates, "This is really a landmark moment for people with this severe form of peripheral artery disease, which we’re calling CLTI. When you think of these minimally invasive procedures to treat this disease, currently in the United States, you only have plain balloon angioplasty. And this is what the LIFE BTK trial was measured against. The Esprit was measured, which is our dissolving stent, and tested against the standard of care, plain balloon angioplasty. And it’s been decades since there’s been any innovation in this, what they sometimes call the endovascular first space. The Esprit is made out of a polymer material similar to what you would think about with dissolving stitches, and it also has a drug on it."
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