Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recent studies have shown that the complication rate of silent cerebral infarction (SCI) in patients with geriatric depression increases with the age at the onset of depression. This study investigated the cardiovascular factors involved in the development of SCI in geriatric depression. Thirty-six patients with geriatric depression were classified according to the age at onset into 16 who developed depression at the age of <50 years (early-onset group) and 20 who developed depression at the age of > or =50 years (late-onset group). The incidence of SCI assessed by subcortical hyperintensity on MRI images, office blood pressure (BP), nocturnal systolic BP fall pattern examined by 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, and the severity of carotid atherosclerosis examined by B-mode ultrasonography were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, the association between the presence or absence of SCI and the nocturnal systolic BP fall pattern or the severity of carotid atherosclerosis was evaluated. The SCI complication rate was higher in the late-onset group (55.0%) than in the early-onset group (18.7%). The office BP and mean 24-hour BP did not differ significantly between the two groups. Abnormal nocturnal systolic BP fall patterns were observed in 85.0% (nondipper type showing a fall of <10% in 60.0%, extreme-dipper type showing a fall of > or =20% in 25.0%) in the late-onset group, which was significantly higher than the incidence in the early-onset group (18.7%). No significant difference was observed in any parameter of carotid atherosclerosis between the two groups. In addition, the patients with SCI more frequently showed abnormal nocturnal systolic BP fall patterns than those without SCI. These results suggest that abnormal nocturnal BP fall patterns appear to be involved in the development of SCI in senile-onset depression.
 ...
PMID:Abnormal nocturnal blood pressure fall in senile-onset depression with subcortical silent cerebral infarction. 1282 41

The association between lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] and cardiovascular diseases is well known. Lp(a) is an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Little information concerning Lp(a) during childhood is available. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the Lp(a) concentration in a cohort of children aged between 4 and 15 yr and to correlate Lp(a) with: a) overweight status; b) body fat distribution; c) family history of vascular diseases in their parents and grandparents. Six hundred and eighty-nine children (350 males, 339 females), were enrolled in the study. BMI as index of being overweight was calculated; the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and the waist-to-thigh ratio (WTR) were calculated to obtain two anthropometric indexes for the pattern of body fat distribution. The areas of visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were evaluated by MRI at the L4-L5 level in only 30 overweight subjects. The serum of Lp(a), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were evaluated in the whole population. Moreover, the same biochemical study was performed in 70 children's parents randomly chosen. A structured questionnaire was administered to the children's parents to investigate the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in family stories. Our data show no Lp(a) serum differences between children according to sex, age and body composition. The strong correlation between the children's and the parents' Lp(a) concentrations and the occurrence of CVD in their grandparents suggests that Lp(a) represents an important independent early risk factor for the development of CVD in adulthood. Measurements of Lp(a) in childhood may help to evaluate this risk in subjects with family history of cardiovascular diseases.
 ...
PMID:Lipoprotein (a) in childhood: correlations with family history of cardiovascular disease. 1290 68

Atherosclerosis leads to heart attack and stroke, which are major killers in the western world. These cardiovascular events frequently result from local rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Non-invasive assessment of plaque vulnerability would dramatically change the way in which atherosclerotic disease is diagnosed, monitored, and treated. In this paper, we report a computerized method for segmentation of arterial wall layers and plaque from high-resolution volumetric MR images. The method uses dynamic programming to detect optimal borders in each MRI frame. The accuracy of the results was tested in 62 T1-weighted MR images from six vessel specimens in comparison to borders manually determined by an expert observer. The mean signed border positioning errors for the lumen, internal elastic lamina, and external elastic lamina borders were -0.1 +/- 0.1, 0.0 +/- 0.1, and -0.1 +/- 0.1 mm, respectively. The presented wall layer segmentation approach is one of the first steps towards non-invasive assessment of plaque vulnerability in atherosclerotic subjects.
 ...
PMID:Segmentation of wall and plaque in in vitro vascular MR images. 1460 94

As it is well-known, a thrombus evolving into a disrupted/eroded atherosclerotic plaque causes most acute coronary syndromes. Plaque stabilization via reduction of the lipid core and/or thickening of the fibrous cap is one of the possible mechanisms accounted for the clinical benefits displayed by different anti-atherosclerotic strategies. The concept of plaque stabilization was developed to explain how lipid-lowering agents could decrease adverse coronary events without substantial modifications of the atherosclerotic lesion. A number of imaging modalities (vascular ultrasound, MRI, and coronary computed tomography) are used for non-invasive assessment of atherosclerosis; most of them can identify luminal stenosis, wall thickness and plaque volume and composition, and can even characterize the rupture-prone vulnerable plaques. Several classes of drugs, including statins, ACE inhibitors, -blockers, and antithrombotics, are able to reduce the plaque burden and the incidence of cardiovascular events; this may be attibutable, at least in part, to plaque-stabilizing effects and the improvement of endothelial dysfunction.
 ...
PMID:[Atheroma plaque stabilization: a new concept based on the dynamic biology of atherosclerosis]. 1462 26

MRI is emerging as a promising modality for monitoring carotid atherosclerosis. Multiple MR contrast weightings are required for identification of plaque constituents. In this study, eight MR contrast weightings with proven potential for plaque characterization were used to image carotid endarterectomy specimens. A classification technique was developed to create a tissue-specific map by incorporating information from all MR contrast weightings. The classifier was validated by comparison with micro-CT (calcification only) and with matched histological slices registered to MR images using a nonlinear warping algorithm (other components). A pathologist who was blinded to the classifier results manually segmented digitized histological images. The sensitivity of the classifier, as determined by pixel-by-pixel comparison with the pathologist's segmentation and micro-CT, was 60.4% for fibrous tissue, 83.9% for necrosis, 97.6% for calcification, and 65.2% for loose connective tissue. The corresponding values for specificity were 87.9%, 75.0%, 98.3%, and 94.9%, respectively. In conclusion, multicontrast MRI was successfully used in conjunction with a supervised classification algorithm to identify plaque components in endarterectomy specimens. Furthermore, this methodology will provide a framework for comparing different classification algorithms, and determining which combination of MR contrasts will be most valuable for in vivo plaque imaging.
 ...
PMID:Quantitative assessment of carotid plaque composition using multicontrast MRI and registered histology. 1464 67

Coronary artery disease (CAD) diminishes local, regional, or global blood supply to the heart and is most commonly caused by coronary atherosclerosis. New insights into the etiology of atherosclerosis suggest that CAD is an inflammatory disorder that responds well to modulation rather than an unchangeable chronic process. Since 75% of all acute coronary syndromes result from rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, factors causing rupture have a crucial role. Magnetic resonance imaging and CT have the potential to visualize the composition of coronary artery plaques and thus to identify plaques at risk. Considering the new insights into stunning and hibernation, myocardial late enhancement on MRI might provide pivotal information for therapeutic decision making among lysis therapy, catheter intervention, and bypass surgery. Exercise electrocardiography without or with right precordial leads, stress echocardiography, and stress scintigraphy are simple clinical procedures to identify CAD with high sensitivities of 67, 92, 76, and 88%, respectively. The MRI and CT have to be compared with these good results. Nevertheless, we are expecting that MRI and CT will replace the conventional diagnostic modalities, gain a central role in diagnosing patients with suspected CAD, and prove to be cost-effective in this regard.
 ...
PMID:Coronary artery disease: new insights and their implications for radiology. 1466 26

MR and CT imaging are emerging as promising complementary imaging modalities in the primary diagnosis of CAD and for the detection of subclinical atherosclerotic disease. For the detection or exclusion of significant CAD, both cardiac CT (including coronary calcium screening and non-invasive coronary angiography), and cardiac MRI (using stress function and stress perfusion imaging) are becoming widely available for routine clinical evaluation. Their high negative predictive value, especially when combining two or more of these modalities, allows the exclusion of significant CAD with high certainty, provided that patients are selected appropriately. The primary goal of current investigations using this combined imaging approach is to reduce the number of unnecessary diagnostic coronary catheterizations, and not to replace cardiac catheterization altogether. For the diagnosis of obstructive coronary atherosclerosis and for screening for subclinical disease, CT and MRI have shown potential to directly image the atherosclerotic lesion, measure atherosclerotic burden, and characterize the plaque components. The information obtained may be used to assess progression and regression of atherosclerosis and may open new areas for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of coronary atherosclerosis. Further clinical investigation is needed to define the technical requirements for optimal imaging, develop accurate quantitative image analysis techniques, outline criteria for image interpretation, and define the clinical indications for both MR or CT imaging. Additional studies are also needed to address the cost effectiveness of such a combined approach versus other currently available imaging modalities.
 ...
PMID:Complementary results of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the heart and coronary arteries: a review and future outlook. 1471 73

In vivo MRI provides a means to non-invasively image and assess the morphological features of atherosclerotic carotid arteries. To assess quantitatively the degree of vulnerability and the type of plaque, the contours of the lumen, outer boundary of the vessel wall and plaque components, need to be traced. Currently this is done manually, which is time-consuming and sensitive to inter- and intra-observer variability. The goal of this work was to develop an automated contour detection technique for tracing the lumen, outer boundary and plaque contours in carotid MR short-axis black-blood images. Seventeen patients with carotid atherosclerosis were imaged using high-resolution in vivo MRI, generating a total of 50 PD- and T1-weighted MR images. These images were automatically segmented using the algorithm presented in this work, which combines model-based segmentation and fuzzy clustering to detect the vessel wall, lumen and lipid core boundaries. The results demonstrate excellent correspondence between automatic and manual area measurements for lumen (r = 0.92) and outer (r = 0.91), and acceptable correspondence for fibrous cap thickness (r = 0.71). Though further optimization is required, our algorithm is a powerful tool for automatic detection of lumen and outer boundaries, and characterization of plaque in atherosclerotic vessels.
 ...
PMID:Automatic segmentation and plaque characterization in atherosclerotic carotid artery MR images. 1502 8

The emergence of high-resolution, rapid imaging methods has enabled MRI to noninvasively image the fine internal structure of atherosclerotic artery walls. This capability has, in turn, captured the interest of clinicians, who see it as an opportunity to assess disease severity based on the characteristics of atherosclerotic lesions themselves, rather than only their effects on the vessel lumen. MRI of atherosclerosis thus has the potential to be used in medical treatment decisions or to assess the effects of experimental treatment options. Given this potential, a number of research groups have been investigating MRI of atherosclerosis in an effort to establish the ability of MRI to determine atherosclerotic plaque burden, detect plaque composition, and ultimately identify vulnerable plaque before it leads to a clinical event. In this review, the current state of the art is summarized for the three primary vessel targets: the carotid artery, the aorta, and the coronary arteries.
 ...
PMID:MRI of atherosclerosis. 1517 Jul 78

The medical history is the cornerstone of the diagnosis of chest pain. In presence of angina like symptoms, the diagnosis of coronary artery disease must be assertained by rest and exercise ECG, eventually coupled with a stress echo or scintigraphy. Coronary angiography remains the ultimate diagnostic procedure despite recent advances in CT scan or MRI technologies. Beside symptomatic treatment aiming to reduce metabolic demand by medication or to improve revascularisation by surgery or percutaneous intervention, the actual therapeutic approach involves therapies aiming to stop atherosclerosis such as strict correction of coronary risk factors, use of statines, ACE inhibitors and antiplatelet agents.
 ...
PMID:[Angina]. 1518 25


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>