Wing Jiang
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Dogukan Mizrak
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Cardiac Surgery / Other
Program:
Authors: Wing Jiang, Dogukan Mizrak
Session: Session 2: 10:00 am – 10:50 am
Poster: 29
Abstract
Aortic aneurysm is an enlargement of the aorta, which can result in aortic rupture or dissection. If left untreated, aortic aneurysms are fatal once the aorta ruptures. No effective non-invasive treatment exists so currently the only treatment is through surgical repair. It has been documented that calcium deposits can build up in the medial layer of the aorta, which cause arterial stiffening and reduce arterial compliance. However, it is unknown as of yet how medial calcification affects thoracic aortic aneurysm incidence and outcomes. In this project, we aim to compare the medial calcification rate in aneurysmal and non-aneurysmal control aorta by staining healthy and diseased human aorta samples from male and female patients. We included thoracic aneurysm patients with both tricuspid aortic valve and bicuspid aortic valve in the study. Alizarin red staining is performed to detect calcium deposits in region, age, and sex-matched human aorta samples collected from aneurysmal and non-aneurysmal subjects. Von Kossa staining will be performed to confirm the findings. The resulting data will be matched with clinical findings to determine if there are any correlations between medial calcification and thoracic aortic aneurysms. There is no conclusive evidence yet showing if there is a correlation between medial calcification and aortic aneurysms since the project is still in its initial stages, so more research will still need to be done. However, this project will hopefully allow us to find a potential correlation.
