TY - JOUR
T1 - Vascular Morphology has no direct relationship with Atherosclerotic Plaque Burden in patients with symptomatic Middle Cerebral Artery stenosis
AU - Liu, Lu
AU - Huo, Chengju
AU - Sun, Hao
AU - Yang, Hua
AU - Zhang, Rui
AU - Wang, Lexin
AU - Xia, Zhangyong
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: The vascular morphology and the characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) have not been fully studied with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI). OBJECTIVE: HR-MRI was applied to investigate vascular morphology and atherosclerotic plaque in patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 343 patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis were enrolled in this study. All the patients were examined by HR-MRI to analyze the morphology of MCA and the M1 segment (MCA-M1), the characteristics and the location of the plaques. RESULTS: The proportion of L-shaped MCA-M1 decreased, while the proportion of S-shaped MCAM1 increased with age. The anterior plaques were the most common in all the patients. The superior plaques were relatively common in patients with L-shaped and U-shaped MCA-M1, while the inferior plaques were relatively common in patients with inverted U-shaped and S-shaped MCAM1. Among all the plaques, the majority were isointense or heterogeneous. The MCA-M1 morphology had no direct relationship with the common risk factors of atherosclerosis and the clinical outcomes of the patients after 12 months of follow up. CONCLUSION: The morphology of MCA-M1 is not directly related to the plaque burden or the degree of stenosis in patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis. The morphology of MCA-M1 is not associated with the risk factors of atherosclerosis, or the clinical outcomes of the patients.
AB - BACKGROUND: The vascular morphology and the characteristics of atherosclerotic plaques in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) have not been fully studied with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI). OBJECTIVE: HR-MRI was applied to investigate vascular morphology and atherosclerotic plaque in patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 343 patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis were enrolled in this study. All the patients were examined by HR-MRI to analyze the morphology of MCA and the M1 segment (MCA-M1), the characteristics and the location of the plaques. RESULTS: The proportion of L-shaped MCA-M1 decreased, while the proportion of S-shaped MCAM1 increased with age. The anterior plaques were the most common in all the patients. The superior plaques were relatively common in patients with L-shaped and U-shaped MCA-M1, while the inferior plaques were relatively common in patients with inverted U-shaped and S-shaped MCAM1. Among all the plaques, the majority were isointense or heterogeneous. The MCA-M1 morphology had no direct relationship with the common risk factors of atherosclerosis and the clinical outcomes of the patients after 12 months of follow up. CONCLUSION: The morphology of MCA-M1 is not directly related to the plaque burden or the degree of stenosis in patients with symptomatic MCA stenosis. The morphology of MCA-M1 is not associated with the risk factors of atherosclerosis, or the clinical outcomes of the patients.
KW - atherosclerotic plaque
KW - cerebral artery stenosis
KW - High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging
KW - middle cerebral artery
KW - stroke
KW - vascular morphology.
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U2 - 10.2174/1567202616666190618122746
DO - 10.2174/1567202616666190618122746
M3 - Article
C2 - 31258086
AN - SCOPUS:85072716762
SN - 1875-5739
VL - 16
SP - 224
EP - 231
JO - Current Neurovascular Research
JF - Current Neurovascular Research
IS - 3
ER -