ArticleActa biomaterialia2025
Dissection Propagation via Avalanches in Human Descending Thoracic Aorta: Effect of Aging.
Article in Acta biomaterialia, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Aortic dissection as a disease of vascular wall homeostasis: integrating vasa vasorum-inflammation-metabolism axis for mechanistic insight and clinical translation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Spatiotemporal Mortality Patterns and Temperature-Associated Risk of Aortic Dissection in the United States: A National CDC WONDER Database Analysis.Vascular health and risk management · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Understanding of the risk factors and underlying mechanisms of aortic dissection (AD) is critical for improved clinical management of the disease. How aging, a prominent risk factor for AD, impairs the dissection resistance capabilities of the aorta has not been elucidated. This study integrated mechanical testing, multiphoton imaging and finite element (FE) modeling to investigate the multiscale dissection behavior of human descending thoracic aortas (DTAs) from a wide range of ages. Mechanical testing demonstrated that aging diminishes bonding between the lamellar layers within the media of human DTA. Moreover, dissection propagation in aortic media is associated with dissection tension drops that follow a power-law distribution. Multiphoton imaging of dissected DTA media revealed less organized elastic lamellae and fewer visible collagen with aging. The discrete FE model of dissection propagation recapitulated the power-law behavior that originates from avalanches of interlamellar collagen fiber (ICF) failures. Simulation revealed prominent interlamellar structural rearrangement of ICFs in the aging DTA, including lower density and higher dispersion, of which the former strongly correlates with the weakened interlamellar bonding while the latter is vital in triggering the fast-propagating avalanches and power-law behavior of AD. Furthermore, small avalanches occur more often with aging, which makes dissection propagation faster and AD more dangerous for the elderly population. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Early diagnosis of aortic dissection (AD) is crucial for effective disease management, and it requires a comprehensive understanding of the risk factors. This study explores the microstructural mechanisms that underlie the age-augmented risk of AD through a multiscale investigation of the dissection mechanics of human descending thoracic aortas (DTAs). Our findings reveal the presence of avalanches and power-law behavior in dissection propagation, which is age-dependent and can be recapitulated using a novel computational model that accounts for the failure of discrete interlamellar fibers. Using this model, we demonstrated that aging weakens the dissection resistance of the DTA, characterized by a reduction in the number and increased dispersion of interlamellar collagen fibers. The avalanches and power-law behavior not only plays a fundamental role in the rapid progression of AD but also offers new perspectives on the interlamellar microstructure-function relationship in both aortic health and disease.
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