Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37367425›Full record

ReviewJournal of cardiovascular development and disease2023

Effects of Lipid Lowering Therapies on Vulnerable Plaque Features: An Updated Narrative Review of the Literature.

Flavio Giuseppe Biccirè, Laura Gatto, Ylenia La Porta, Pasquale Pignatelli, Francesco Prati, Daniele Pastori

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of cardiovascular development and disease, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Observational
  3. Coronary artery anomalies: contemporary approaches to risk stratification and management.European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026
    Article
  4. PCSK9 inhibitors conquer primary prevention: the VESALIUS-CV study.European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Reducing the risk of heart attack: the key role of lipid profiling and atherosclerosis imaging.European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Article
  11. Seeking and treating inflammation in ischaemic heart disease: are we ready?European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Article
  12. The role of functional assessment in the management of ischaemic heart disease.European heart journal supplements : journal of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Observational
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Flavio Giuseppe BiccirèDepartment of General and Specialized Surgery "Paride Stefanini", Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Laura GattoCentro per la Lotta Contro L'Infarto-CLI Foundation, 00182 Rome, Italy.
Ylenia La PortaCentro per la Lotta Contro L'Infarto-CLI Foundation, 00182 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5597-8140
Pasquale PignatelliDepartment of Clinical Internal, Anesthesiological, and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Francesco PratiCentro per la Lotta Contro L'Infarto-CLI Foundation, 00182 Rome, Italy.
Daniele PastoriDepartment of Clinical Internal, Anesthesiological, and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6357-5213
Lega Italiana per la Lotta ai Tumori · ITSapienza University of Rome · ITSaint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences · ITUniversità Campus Bio-Medico · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The clinical evidence on the efficacy of lipid lowering therapy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is unequivocally established. However, the effects of these therapies on plaque composition and stability are less clear. The use of intracoronary imaging (ICI) technologies has emerged as a complement to conventional angiography to further characterize plaque morphology and detect high-risk plaque features related to cardiovascular events. Along with clinical outcomes studies, parallel imaging trials employing serial evaluations with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) have shown that pharmacological treatment has the capacity to either slow disease progression or promote plaque regression, depending on the degree of lipid lowering achieved. Subsequently, the introduction of high-intensity lipid lowering therapy led to much lower levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than achieved in the past, resulting in greater clinical benefit. However, the degree of atheroma regression showed in concomitant imaging trials appeared more modest as compared to the magnitude of clinical benefit accrued from high-intensity statin therapy. Recently, new randomized trials have investigated the additional effects of achieving very low levels of LDL-C on high-risk plaque features-such as fibrous cap thickness and large lipid accumulation-beyond its size. This paper provides an overview of the currently available evidence of the effects of moderate to high-intensity lipid lowering therapy on high-risk plaque features as assessed by different ICI modalities, reviews data supporting the use of these trials, and analyse the future perspectives in this field.

Indexed as

intravascular ultrasoundlipid lowering therapyoptical coherence tomographyplaque regressionplaque stabilizationvulnerable plaque

Identifiers

PMID37367425
PMCPMC10299518
OpenAlexW4380998165

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.