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Updated: Oct 16, 2026
The Rabbit Model of Accelerated Atherosclerosis: A Methodological Perspective of the Iliac Artery Balloon Injury
Published on: October 3, 2017
External beam irradiation following balloon angioplasty in an atherosclerotic rabbit model
J Kalef-Ezra1, L K Michalis, P Tsekeris
1Department of Medical Physics, University of Ioannina Medical School, Greece. jkalef@cc.uoi.gr
Purpose:
To study the effect of external beam irradiation on the morphometry of both angioplasted and nonangioplasted arteries in a hypercholesterolemic rabbit model.
Methods And Materials:
Four groups of rabbit femoral arteries were studied: arteries (a) with no intervention, (b) irradiated with a 12-Gy x-ray dose, (c) treated with balloon angioplasty, and (d) dosed with 12 Gy 30 min after balloon angioplasty.
Results:
External irradiation did not change vessel morphometry in nonangioplasted arteries. On the contrary, it induced neointimal formation and decreased luminal area, without causing any vessel remodeling in arteries treated with balloon angioplasty.
Conclusion:
External irradiation at 12 Gy given 30 min after angioplasty in the studied model accentuated the neointimal response to vascular injury, without causing any vessel remodeling.
