Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness
Objective: Investigating the relevance of the incomplete circle of Willis (COW) to the plaque wall distribution in the atherosclerotic middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) through utilizing high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), and its potential clinical impact.Methods: This hospital-based...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.599459/full |
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| author | Jia Li Lu Zheng Wen-Jie Yang Cheuk-Yin Sze-To Thomas Wai-Hong Leung Xiang-Yan Chen |
| author_facet | Jia Li Lu Zheng Wen-Jie Yang Cheuk-Yin Sze-To Thomas Wai-Hong Leung Xiang-Yan Chen |
| author_sort | Jia Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: Investigating the relevance of the incomplete circle of Willis (COW) to the plaque wall distribution in the atherosclerotic middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) through utilizing high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), and its potential clinical impact.Methods: This hospital-based study enrolled consecutive adult patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, who received a 3.0T Achieva MR system scanning. The COW completeness was evaluated on MR angiography imaging, including anterior (A) and posterior (P)-COW sections. The MCA plaque wall distribution was assessed on HR-MRI. The occurrence of perforator infarction was detected on diffusion-weighted imaging.Results: Among 87 patients (mean age = 62.39 ± 11.64 years old) with atherosclerotic plaques in the MCA M1 segments, the incomplete COW types were more prevalent than the complete COW type (incomplete P-COW, 83.9%; incomplete A-COW, 36.8%; complete COW, 8.1%). The incomplete A-COW had more inferior but fewer ventral plaques of MCA atherosclerosis than the complete A-COW, while the incomplete P-COW had fewer inferior MCA plaques than the complete P-COW. Moreover, symptomatic MCA plaques causing perforator infarctions were more likely to locate on the superior wall.Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the COW completeness could influence the vessel wall distribution of the MCA plaques, among which the superior plaques of symptomatic MCA atherosclerosis was associated with branch occlusive disease. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T22:32:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-de522f0290de4ab683596f136c2d988b2022-12-21T21:30:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952021-01-011110.3389/fneur.2020.599459599459Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis CompletenessJia Li0Lu Zheng1Wen-Jie Yang2Cheuk-Yin Sze-To3Thomas Wai-Hong Leung4Xiang-Yan Chen5Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong KongDepartment of Neurology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, ChinaThe Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, United StatesDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong KongDivision of Neurology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong KongDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong KongObjective: Investigating the relevance of the incomplete circle of Willis (COW) to the plaque wall distribution in the atherosclerotic middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) through utilizing high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), and its potential clinical impact.Methods: This hospital-based study enrolled consecutive adult patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, who received a 3.0T Achieva MR system scanning. The COW completeness was evaluated on MR angiography imaging, including anterior (A) and posterior (P)-COW sections. The MCA plaque wall distribution was assessed on HR-MRI. The occurrence of perforator infarction was detected on diffusion-weighted imaging.Results: Among 87 patients (mean age = 62.39 ± 11.64 years old) with atherosclerotic plaques in the MCA M1 segments, the incomplete COW types were more prevalent than the complete COW type (incomplete P-COW, 83.9%; incomplete A-COW, 36.8%; complete COW, 8.1%). The incomplete A-COW had more inferior but fewer ventral plaques of MCA atherosclerosis than the complete A-COW, while the incomplete P-COW had fewer inferior MCA plaques than the complete P-COW. Moreover, symptomatic MCA plaques causing perforator infarctions were more likely to locate on the superior wall.Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the COW completeness could influence the vessel wall distribution of the MCA plaques, among which the superior plaques of symptomatic MCA atherosclerosis was associated with branch occlusive disease.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.599459/fullintracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS)middle cerebral artery (MCA)plaque wall distributioncircle of Willis (CoW)vascular anatomical variation |
| spellingShingle | Jia Li Lu Zheng Wen-Jie Yang Cheuk-Yin Sze-To Thomas Wai-Hong Leung Xiang-Yan Chen Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness Frontiers in Neurology intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) middle cerebral artery (MCA) plaque wall distribution circle of Willis (CoW) vascular anatomical variation |
| title | Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness |
| title_full | Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness |
| title_fullStr | Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness |
| title_short | Plaque Wall Distribution Pattern of the Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Associates With the Circle of Willis Completeness |
| title_sort | plaque wall distribution pattern of the atherosclerotic middle cerebral artery associates with the circle of willis completeness |
| topic | intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) middle cerebral artery (MCA) plaque wall distribution circle of Willis (CoW) vascular anatomical variation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.599459/full |
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