Artery Research

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Volume 20, Issue C, December 2017, Pages 76 - 76

P82 IMAGE-BASED CHARACTERIZATION OF PLAQUE LIPID CONCENTRATION CHANGES IN TIME AND THE ROLE OF STATIN THERAPY

Authors
Kristen Meiburger1, Gianfranco Varetto2, Pietro Rispoli2, Filippo Molinari1
1Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
2Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, AOU Città della salute e della scienza di Torino, Italy
Available Online 6 December 2017.
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2017.10.098How to use a DOI?
Abstract

Introduction: Carotid artery atherosclerosis is an established risk factor for cerebrovascular events. Core lipid-rich plaques are considered at a higher risk of embolization compared to fibrous or calcified lesions. Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is effective for studying carotid plaques, providing a virtual histology [1]. Here we assess the behavior of non-surgical carotid plaques in terms of lipid variation over time.

Methods: Eleven patients were enrolled (University of Turin) with a 50–69% (ECST) carotid asymptomatic stenosis. Seven patients were on statin therapy. All patients signed an informed consent and underwent standard carotid ultrasound (MyLab25 Gold, Esaote). A 1.5ml bolus of SonoVue (Bracco Spa) was injected; then a 5ml saline flush. Post-contrast Bmode images (180s after injection) were saved and analyzed offline. All patients repeated this protocol after 6 months.

The plaques were segmented, intensity normalized [2], and characterized according to a previous method [3].

Results: We evaluated small cohorts according to lipid concentration changes, identifying four categories. One patient had a plaque showing no lipid variation; four patients showed a slight decrease; four patients a remarkable decrease; two patients an increase.

Seven patients with a decrease in lipid concentration were on statin therapy, while both patients with an increase in lipids were not.

Conclusions: A method for asymptomatic carotid plaque characterization using CEUS is presented. We focused on plaque lipid variations and the possible influence of statin therapy. We showed that carotid plaques are rarely stable, but rather continuously change composition over time and how statins could play an important role in this process.

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This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

References

[1]BK Lal, RW Hobson, PJ Pappas, R Kubicka, M Hameed, EY Chakhtura, Z Jamil, FT Padberg, PB Haser, and WN Durán, Pixel distribution analysis of B-mode ultrasound scan images predicts histologic features of atherosclerotic carotid plaques, Journal of vascular surgery, Vol. 35, No. 6, 30 Jun 2002, pp. 1210-7.
[2]SK Kakkos, MB Griffin, AN Nicolaides, E Kyriacou, MM Sabetai, T Tegos, GC Makris, DJ Thomas, and G Geroulakos, Risk of Stroke (ACSRS) Study Group, The size of juxtaluminal hypoechoic area in ultrasound images of asymptomatic carotid plaques predicts the occurrence of stroke, Journal of vascular surgery, Vol. 57, No. 3, 31 Mar 2013, pp. 609-18.
[3]F Molinari, W Liboni, P Giustetto, E Pavanelli, A Marsico, and JS Suri, Carotid plaque characterization with contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and its histological validation, Journal for Vascular Ultrasound, Vol. 34, No. 4, 1 Dec 2010, pp. 175-84.
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Journal
Artery Research
Volume-Issue
20 - C
Pages
76 - 76
Publication Date
2017/12/06
ISSN (Online)
1876-4401
ISSN (Print)
1872-9312
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2017.10.098How to use a DOI?
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kristen Meiburger
AU  - Gianfranco Varetto
AU  - Pietro Rispoli
AU  - Filippo Molinari
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/12/06
TI  - P82 IMAGE-BASED CHARACTERIZATION OF PLAQUE LIPID CONCENTRATION CHANGES IN TIME AND THE ROLE OF STATIN THERAPY
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 76
EP  - 76
VL  - 20
IS  - C
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2017.10.098
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2017.10.098
ID  - Meiburger2017
ER  -