BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Dual-source CTA and black-blood MRA are recently developed techniques for evaluating carotid stenosis. The purpose of this study was to compare dual-source CTA with black-blood MRA and conventional TOF MRA in both detecting carotid stenosis by using DSA as a reference standard and demonstrating plaque morphology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty patients with suspected caro...

72. European Carotid Surgery Trialists’ Collaborative Group. MRC European carotid surgery trial: interim results for symptomatic patients with severe carotid stenosis and with mild carotid stenosis. Lancet 1991; 337: 1235–1243 73. Ferguson GG, Eliasziw M, Barr HWK et al. The North American symptomatic carotid endarterectomy trial: surgical result in 1415 patients. Stroke 1999; 30: 1751–1758 74....

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The hemodynamic effects of extracranial carotid stenosis on intracranial blood flow are not well characterized. We sought to determine the impact of degree of stenosis, stenosis length, and residual lumen on intracranial blood flow in patients with extracranial carotid stenosis. METHODS Carotid stenosis patients who had undergone both vessel flow rate measurements using...

CONTEXT The annual risk of ischemic stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis is about 2% during the short-term (2-3 years), but the long-term risks of stroke and other vascular events are unknown, although they may affect surgical decision making. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the long-term risk of stroke and other vascular events in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery steno...

Interleukin (IL)-8 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are important factors that induce the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells, increase the vascular permeability, and the modulate chemotaxis of monocytes. These molecules have been found in human atherosclerotic plaques. However, it is not clear whether the circulating levels of IL-8 and VEGF correlate with the extents ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To estimate clinical roles of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) versus angiography and ultrasonography in carotid plaque characterization. METHODS We characterized two groups of patients with recently (<1 month) symptomatic (n=14; age=71.8±8.6 years, mean±SD) or chronic (n=13, age=68.9±9.0 years) carotid stenosis using a battery of imaging ...

To investigate potential associations between carotid artery stenosis and cognitive impairment among patients with acute ischemic stroke and to provide important clinical implications. We measured the degree of carotid artery stenosis and recorded the Mini-Mental State Examination score (MMSE) at admission in 3116 acute ischemic stroke patients. The association between carotid stenosis and cogn...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The use of three methods of measuring carotid stenosis, which produce different values on the same angiograms, has caused confusion and reduced the generalizability of the results of research. If the results of future studies are to be properly applied to clinical practice, and if noninvasive methods of imaging are to be properly validated against angiography, a single, s...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Complicated (irregular or ulcerated) carotid plaques have proven to be independent predictors of stroke. We analyzed the frequency and location of plaque irregularities in a large cohort of patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease and the relation with severity of stenosis, cardiovascular risk factors, and symptomatology. METHODS Multidetector CT angiography image...

CONTEXT Several well-known clinical trials have demonstrated that the value of carotid endarterectomy depends on preoperative symptoms and the degree of carotid artery stenosis. The benefit of surgery also depends on how the results of these clinical trials (defining the efficacy of carotid endarterectomy) are applied to actual clinical practice (the effectiveness of the procedure), where surgi...