1. A mathematical model of aortic aneurysm formation.
- Author
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Hao, Wenrui, Gong, Shihua, Wu, Shuonan, Xu, Jinchao, Go, Michael R., Friedman, Avner, and Zhu, Dai
- Subjects
AORTIC aneurysms ,ANEURYSMS ,INTERLEUKIN-6 ,BIOMARKERS ,MATHEMATICAL models ,PARTIAL differential equations ,PROGNOSIS - Abstract
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta, such that the diameter exceeds 3 cm. The natural history of AAA is progressive growth leading to rupture, an event that carries up to 90% risk of mortality. Hence there is a need to predict the growth of the diameter of the aorta based on the diameter of a patient’s aneurysm at initial screening and aided by non-invasive biomarkers. IL-6 is overexpressed in AAA and was suggested as a prognostic marker for the risk in AAA. The present paper develops a mathematical model which relates the growth of the abdominal aorta to the serum concentration of IL-6. Given the initial diameter of the aorta and the serum concentration of IL-6, the model predicts the growth of the diameter at subsequent times. Such a prediction can provide guidance to how closely the patient’s abdominal aorta should be monitored. The mathematical model is represented by a system of partial differential equations taking place in the aortic wall, where the media is assumed to have the constituency of an hyperelastic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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