The drug-eluting stent: is it the Holy Grail?

Although the restenosis rate of coronary stenting is generally 10% to 20%, it can go as high as 60% in patients with diabetes or complex lesions. Currently, the only effective treatment for restenosis is brachytherapy. Drug-eluting stents may be the way to prevent restenosis that cardiologists have been seeking: the drug-coated stents are simple to use and help prevent negative remodeling and the intimal hyperplasia caused by stenting. In studies comparing sirolimus-coated and bare-metal stents, the sirolimus-coated stents resulted in less smooth muscle cell colonization, minimal intimal hyperplasia, and no edge effect; moreover, no adverse clinical events were reported. Currently ongoing, multicenter clinical trials of drug-eluting stents may soon come up with the answers that cardiologists have been hoping for.