Zehao Liu
1
Lianlian Zhang
2*The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Stroke
Volume 15 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1442656
This article is part of the Research Topic Carotid Atherosclerosis: Molecular Mechanisms, Diagnosis, Prognosis And Potential Therapies View all 6 articles
Association of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Intraplaque Neovascularization in Symptomatic Carotid Plaque
Provisionally accepted- 1 Jiangsu Taizhou People's Hospital, Taizhou, China
- 2 Yancheng First People's Hospital, Yancheng, Jiangsu, China
Background and Purpose Cardiovascular risk factors are known to contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, which can result in carotid stenosis. However, the extent to which these factors are associated with intraplaque neovascularization, a key indicator of plaque vulnerability, remains unclear. To investigate this relationship, a study was conducted utilizing contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to assess intraplaque neovascularization in symptomatic patients. Methods A cohort of 157 symptomatic patients underwent evaluation using Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) imaging to assess carotid intraplaque neovascularization, which was quantified based on the degree of plaque enhancement. The collected data encompassed baseline patient characteristics, results from biochemical examinations, cardiovascular risk factors, and medication usage history. Regression analyses were conducted to elucidate the relationship between carotid plaque neovascularization and various cardiovascular risk factors. Results Patients with intraplaque neovascularization were more prone to have diabetes mellitus (OR 3.81, 95% CI 1.94 - 7.46, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.22 - 4.55, p = 0.011) and hypertension (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.50 - 5.71, p = 0.002). Smoking increased the risk of having intraplaque neovascularization (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.12 - 4.54, p = 0.023). Treatment with statins was significantly lower in patients with intraplaque neovascularization (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.19 - 0.72, p = 0.003). In the multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus (OR 3.27, 95% CI 1.10 - 9.78, p = 0.034) was independently related to the presence of intraplaque neovascularization. Meanwhile, compared to the patients in the first tertile of serum glucose (< 6.20 mmol/L), the patients in the third tertile (> 13.35 mmol/L) had the most significance of intraplaque neovascularization (OR 5.55, 95% CI 1.85 - 16.66, p = 0.002). Conclusion The findings indicated that diabetes mellitus is a significant cardiovascular risk factor that is strongly associated with carotid intraplaque neovascularization.
Keywords: Plaque neovascularization, risk factor, Atherosclerosis, Vulnerable plaque Plaque neovascularization, Diabetes Mellitus, cardiovascular risk factor, BMI: Body Mass Index, CEUS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound
Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Zhang, Sun and Ding. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lianlian Zhang, Yancheng First People's Hospital, Yancheng, 224001, Jiangsu, China
Bin Sun, Jiangsu Taizhou People's Hospital, Taizhou, China
Yasuo Ding, Jiangsu Taizhou People's Hospital, Taizhou, China
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