Introduction: External fractionated radiotherapy of cancer increases the risk of cardio- and cerebrovascular events, but less attention has been paid to the potential side effects on the arteries following internal radiotherapy with radioactive iodine (RAI), i.e. 131-iodine. About 279 per million citizens in the western countries are treated each year with RAI for benign thyroid disorders (about 140,000 a year in the EU), stressing that it is of clinical importance to be aware of even rare radiation-induced side effects. In order to induce or accelerate atherosclerosis, the dose to the carotid arteries has to exceed 2 Gy which is the known lower limit of ionizing radiation to affect the endothelial cells and thereby to induce atherosclerosis.
Objective: To estimate the radiation dose to the carotid arteries following RAI therapy of benign thyroid disorders.
Methods: Assuming that the lobes of the thyroid gland are ellipsoid, that the carotid artery runs through a part of the lobes, that there is a homogeneous distribution of RAI in the lobes, and that the 24 h RAI uptake in the thyroid is 35 % of the (131)I orally administrated, we used integrated modules for bioassay analysis and Monte Carlo simulations to calculate the dose in Gy/GBq of administrated RAI.
Results: The average radiation dose along the arteries is 4-55 Gy/GBq of the (131)I orally administrated with a maximum dose of approximately 25-85 Gy/GBq. The maximum absorbed dose rate to the artery is 4.2 Gy/day per GBq (131)I orally administrated.
Conclusion: The calculated radiation dose to the carotid arteries after RAI therapy of benign thyroid disorder clearly exceeds the 2 Gy known to affect the endothelial cells and properly induce atherosclerosis. This simulation indicates a relation between the deposited dose in the arteries following RAI treatment and an increased risk of atherosclerosis and subsequent cerebrovascular events such as stroke.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12149-013-0756-y | DOI Listing |
Rheumatol Int
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital Oberndorf, Teaching Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease marked by systemic inflammation. While RA primarily affects the joints, its systemic effects may lead to an increased cerebro- and cardiovascular risk. Atherosclerosis of the carotid arteries is a significant risk factor for cerebrovascular events and serves as a surrogate marker for cardiovascular risk.
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February 2025
Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
Purpose: Despite significant improvements in the design and performance of continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (CFLVADs), one of the most important reasons hampering further penetration of this technology is the occurrence of adverse events, especially strokes. One of the well-known risk factors for strokes is hypertension which is particularly common in patients undergoing a CFLVAD implant. While the device is implanted in the heart, strokes happen due to pathology in the brain and we hypothesised that modelling the blood flow in the circle of Willis might shed light on the causation of strokes in this situation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJVS Vasc Insights
May 2024
Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University.
Objective: Atherosclerosis underlies the most common etiologies of mortality worldwide, resulting in nearly 10 million deaths annually. In atherosclerosis, inflammation, metabolic factors, and hemodynamics cause the accumulation of extracellular lipids and the formation of plaques in the tunica intima of specific arteries. Atherosclerotic plaques primarily form in the coronary and carotid arteries, the aorta, and the peripheral arteries of the lower extremities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 65-year-old patient was admitted to the Institute with complaints of shortness of breath, palpitation, and limb edema. Comorbidities were type 2 diabetes mellitus, gout, obesity. Echo: left ventricular ejection fraction 22%, left ventricular aneurysm (LVA), floating thrombus 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica, USA.
Vasculitides represent a range of disorders marked by inflammation of blood vessels, often posing significant diagnostic challenges due to their diverse clinical presentations and involvement of multiple organ systems. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman who arrived with hemoptysis and a background of exertional dyspnea, chest pain, and occasional visual disturbances. Initial investigations showed elevated perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (P-ANCAs) and myeloperoxidase antibodies (MPOs), indicative of microscopic polyangiitis (MPA).
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