AUTHOR=Qin Yiren , Qian Xiaoyan , Luo Xue , Li Yuanfang , Wang Dapeng , Jiang Jianhua , Zhang Quanquan , Liu Meirong , Xiao Junhua , Zhang Yan , Diao Shanshan , Zhao Hongru
TITLE=Association Between Plasma Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 and Plaque Vulnerability in TIA Patients With Unilateral Middle Cerebral Artery Stenosis
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology
VOLUME=11
YEAR=2020
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.574036
DOI=10.3389/fneur.2020.574036
ISSN=1664-2295
ABSTRACT=Background: Plasma lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) has emerged as a novel biomarker for coronary atherosclerosis. However, the association between Lp-PLA2 and plaque vulnerability in atherosclerosis of cervicocerebral arteries remains poorly defined, especially for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). We aimed to investigate the association between Lp-PLA2 and plaque vulnerability in transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery stenoses (MCAs).
Methods: In this study, a total of 207 patients were enrolled from April 2017 to April 2020. Clinical data were collected, and MCA plaques were examined with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HRMRI). Baseline characteristics of patients were collected during hospitalization. Statistical comparisons were performed using Pearson's chi-squared test, Mann–Whitney U test, and the Breslow–Day/Tarone's test for the determination of heterogeneity in different age strata. Multivariate binary logistic analysis was used to investigate the potential independent predictors that were highly correlated to plaque vulnerability.
Results: The results showed that a high Lp-PLA2 level (>221 ng/ml) was associated with plaque vulnerability in TIA patients with unilateral MCAs. High Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with plaque vulnerability in patients ≤ 60 years old [multivariate adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 9.854; 95% CI, 2.458–39.501] but not in patients >60 years old (multivariate adjusted OR = 1.901; 95% CI, 0.640–5.650). Predictors of plaque vulnerability in different age strata were also different.
Conclusion: Lp-PLA2 levels may be correlated to plaque vulnerability in TIA patients with unilateral MCAs and might be a diagnostic biomarker for plaque vulnerability in this kind of patients, especially for ones aged ≤ 60 years old.