Ye Cao1, Yi Sun1, Bin Zhou1, Huilin Zhao1, Ying Zhu2, Jianrong Xu1, Xiaosheng Liu1. 1. a Department of Radiology , Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine , Shanghai , China. 2. b Department of Neurology , Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine , Shanghai , China.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare the atherosclerotic plaque burden between middle cerebral artery (MCA) and extracranial carotid artery (ECA) in ischemic stroke patients using high-resolution, black-blood (HR BB) MRI and to investigate the relationship between plaque burden found in both arteries and stroke severity. METHODS: All subjects with recent ischemic stroke underwent MCA and ECA HR BB MRI at 3.0 Tesla. For each artery segment, the thickness, area and signal intensities of plaques were recorded. Plaque burden, as measured by normalized wall index (NWI = wall area/total vessel area × 100%) were calculated. All patients received a clinical stroke severity score as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at the time of admission. RESULTS: A total of 65 stroke subjects were included in the final analysis. MCA exhibited significantly greater NWI than the ipsilateral ECA (symptomatic MCA vs. ECA: 58.04 ± 8.19 vs. 37.53 ± 10.25, p < 0.001; asymptomatic MCA vs. ECA: 53.80 ± 4.49 vs. 34.85 ± 4.27, p < 0.001, respectively). NWI in symptomatic MCA and ECA were significantly associated with NIHSS scores (r = 0.779 vs. 0.645; p < 0.001 respectively). Moreover, stronger statistical correlations between NIHSS scores and NWI were found in MCA, as compared with ECA during multivariate linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Greater atherosclerotic plaque burden and a closer association with stroke severity were found for the MCA as compared to the ipsilateral ECA. Identification of MCA plaque lesions by MRI may be helpful for developing more aggressive strategies for stroke prevention.
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare the atherosclerotic plaque burden between middle cerebral artery (MCA) and extracranial carotid artery (ECA) in ischemic strokepatients using high-resolution, black-blood (HR BB) MRI and to investigate the relationship between plaque burden found in both arteries and stroke severity. METHODS: All subjects with recent ischemic stroke underwent MCA and ECA HR BB MRI at 3.0 Tesla. For each artery segment, the thickness, area and signal intensities of plaques were recorded. Plaque burden, as measured by normalized wall index (NWI = wall area/total vessel area × 100%) were calculated. All patients received a clinical stroke severity score as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at the time of admission. RESULTS: A total of 65 stroke subjects were included in the final analysis. MCA exhibited significantly greater NWI than the ipsilateral ECA (symptomatic MCA vs. ECA: 58.04 ± 8.19 vs. 37.53 ± 10.25, p < 0.001; asymptomatic MCA vs. ECA: 53.80 ± 4.49 vs. 34.85 ± 4.27, p < 0.001, respectively). NWI in symptomatic MCA and ECA were significantly associated with NIHSS scores (r = 0.779 vs. 0.645; p < 0.001 respectively). Moreover, stronger statistical correlations between NIHSS scores and NWI were found in MCA, as compared with ECA during multivariate linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: Greater atherosclerotic plaque burden and a closer association with stroke severity were found for the MCA as compared to the ipsilateral ECA. Identification of MCA plaque lesions by MRI may be helpful for developing more aggressive strategies for stroke prevention.
Authors: Jichang Luo; Long Li; Tao Wang; Kun Yang; Yao Feng; Renjie Yang; Yan Ma; Peng Gao; Bin Yang; Liqun Jiao Journal: Front Neurol Date: 2021-01-20 Impact factor: 4.003
Authors: Heng Du; Jia Li; Wenjie Yang; Daniel Bos; Lu Zheng; Lawrence Ka Sing Wong; Thomas W Leung; Xiangyan Chen Journal: Front Neurol Date: 2022-02-08 Impact factor: 4.003