Background: Patients with a recent ischemic stroke have a higher risk of recurrent stroke compared to (ocular) transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. Plaque microvasculature is considered as a feature of plaque vulnerability and can be quantified with carotid dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the association between plaque microvasculature and the type of recent cerebrovascular events in symptomatic patients with mild-to-moderate carotid stenosis.
Methods: A total of 87 symptomatic patients with a recent stroke (n = 35) or (ocular) TIA (n = 52) underwent carotid DCE-MRI examination. Plaque microvasculature was studied in the vessel wall and adventitia using DCE-MRI and the pharmacokinetic modeling parameter Ktrans. Statistical analysis was performed with logistic regression, correcting for associated clinical risk factors.
Results: The 75th percentile adventitial (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.18-3.29) Ktrans was significantly associated with a recent ischemic stroke compared to (ocular) TIA in multivariate analysis, while clinical risk factors were not significantly associated with the type of event.
Conclusions: This study indicates a positive association of leaky plaque microvasculature with a recent ischemic stroke compared to (ocular) TIA. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to investigate whether Ktrans or other plaque characteristics may serve as an imaging marker for predicting (the type of) future cerebrovascular events.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000481146 | DOI Listing |
J Biomech Eng
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Yuquan Campus, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, Zhejiang, China; Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study of Zhejiang University, Zhangjiang Guochuang Center phase, No.799, Dangui Road, Shanghai 200120, China.
The carotid and vertebral arteries are principal conduits for cerebral blood supply and are common sites for atherosclerotic plaque formation. To date, there has been extensive clinical and hemodynamic reporting on carotid arteries; however, studies focusing on the hemodynamic characteristics of the vertebral artery (VA) are notably scarce. This article presents a systematic analysis of the impact of VA diameter and the angle of divergence from the subclavian artery (SA) on hemodynamic properties, facilitated by the construction of an idealized VA geometric model.
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January 2025
Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and one of the leading causes of death. AD is known to be correlated to tortuosity in the microvasculature as well as decreases in blood flow throughout the brain. However, the mechanisms behind these changes and their causal relation to AD are poorly understood.
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January 2025
Physics for Medicine Paris, INSERM U1273, ESPCI Paris, CNRS UMR 8063, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
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State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Centre, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
Background: Retinal microvascular abnormalities (RMA) reflect cumulative microvascular damage from systemic diseases and aging. However, little is known about the association between RMA and long-term survival outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationships between RMA and the risk of all-cause and specific-cause mortality among U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Cardiovasc Res
January 2025
Department of Medicine 2, RWTH Aachen University, Medical Faculty, Aachen, Germany.
Atherosclerosis is a pervasive contributor to ischemic heart disease and stroke. Despite the advance of lipid-lowering therapies and anti-hypertensive agents, the residual risk of an atherosclerotic event remains high, and developing therapeutic strategies has proven challenging. This is due to the complexity of atherosclerosis with a spatial interplay of multiple cell types within the vascular wall.
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