Women's Health: C-sections and Invasive Placentas
Studying Women's Health: Making Childbirth Safer
The rate of C-sections in the United States has risen greatly over the past decade, and, in 2005, 30 percent of all births were by C-section, according to recent statistics. Although generally a very safe procedure, complications of C-sections happen rarely and may include injuries to the blood vessels that can cause prolonged and sometimes life-threatening bleeding in the mother. Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and for those who suffer from the pregnancy condition of "invasive" placenta. The results of two studies detailing the effectiveness of minimally invasive treatments for pregnant women will be presented.


Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Examining Heart Attack Risk: Surprising Look at Framingham Risk Scores (NHANES Data From More Than 6,000 Persons)
About 25 percent of all heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the United States occur in individuals thought to be at low risk. If these individuals could be identified early on, primary prevention-such as initiating lifestyle changes and medical intervention directed at modifying risk factors (smoking cessation, blood glucose and blood pressure control, lowering cholesterol and exercise)-could be started before costlier and more intensive treatments are needed. Interventional radiologists have found that using common and readily available screening tests has the potential to prevent heart attacks in thousands of individuals not thought to be at risk.

Treating Peripheral Arterial Disease: Stem Cell Therapy Advances
Interventional radiologists are putting together the puzzle pieces of stem cell therapy to determine how to regenerate blood vessels to open clogged or narrowed arteries to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD). A major research center presents its findings on how simple imaging can be used to view and locate transplanted stem cells and to confirm that they remain alive in the body once injected-with the help of a firefly-like bioluminescence imaging agent and seaweed "bubble."

Seeing the Promise of Drug-Eluting Stents for Critical Limb Ischemia
Interventional radiologists are helping peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients with critical limb ischemia avoid amputation by exploring the treatment of the smaller blood vessels below the knee (typically difficult to treat because of their size) with drug-coated stents. Promising three-year data, comparing results of drug-eluting with bare metal stents, from a single center's double-arm prospective registry will be presented.

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