Prevalence of middle cerebral artery stenosis in asymptomatic subjects of more than 40 years age group: a transcranial Doppler study.

Introduction: Middle cerebral artery (MCA) disease is the most common vascular lesion in stroke. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a non-invasive bedside screening method for assessing cerebral blood flow.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of MCA stenosis in asymptomatic but high-risk individuals for stroke.

Subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by utilizing carotid intima-media thickness as a surrogate marker.

Background & Objectives: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more prone for accelerated atherosclerosis and Asian Indians as an ethnic group are predisposed to a high risk of premature atherosclerosis. However, sparse data are available regarding the burden of atherosclerosis among asymptomatic adult patients with RA in south India. We studied the burden of asymptomatic atherosclerosis in adult south Indian patients with RA at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India, utilizing carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) as a surrogate marker.