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- Title
Neovascularization in carotid atherosclerotic plaques can be effectively evaluated by superb microvascular imaging (SMI): Initial experience.
- Authors
Chen, Xuanjia; Wang, Hongyan; Jiang, Yuxin; Li, Jianchu; Li, Na; Kong, Jing; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Ye, Wei; Zhao, Dachun; Cai, Siman
- Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the amount of blood flow in the area of neovascularization within a carotid atherosclerotic plaque by superb microvascular imaging (SMI) and the microvessel density (MVD) determined by histopathological staining. Twenty-eight carotid atherosclerotic plaques were detected by SMI in 28 patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy. SMI was graded according to the visual methods as follows: grade I: no appearance of neovascularization within the plaque; grade II: punctate neovascularization; grade III: one or two linear neovascularizations within the plaque; and grade IV: multiple (> 2) linear neovascularizations throughout the plaque. The neovascularization density was determined by the CD31 complex staining method. There was a significant correlation between the density of neovascularization in histopathologic plaques and the blood flow grade found by SMI (r = 0.788, p < 0.001). A significant difference was observed in SMI blood flow grade between the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups (χ2 = 2.634, p = 0.036). The MVD of plaques in the symptomatic group was significantly higher than that in the asymptomatic group (t = 2.530, p = 0.018). The SMI-based classification was positively correlated with plaque thickness. SMI, which is a new nonultrasound contrast-enhanced imaging method, can effectively evaluate neovascularization in carotid atherosclerotic plaques and can be used as a novel method for the clinical prediction of stroke risk.
- Subjects
ATHEROSCLEROTIC plaque; NEOVASCULARIZATION; BLOOD flow; CAROTID endarterectomy; CAROTID artery diseases
- Publication
Vascular Medicine, 2020, Vol 25, Issue 4, p328
- ISSN
1358-863X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/1358863X20909992