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Impact of intracranial artery calcification on cerebral hemodynamic changes

  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Purpose

Intracranial artery calcification (IAC) has been demonstrated to be correlated with ischemic stroke, cognitive decline, and other vascular events by accumulating evidences from both Western and Asian populations. The proposed study aimed to investigate its potential mechanisms by evaluating the blood flow velocity and pulsatility index (PI) of cerebral arteries.

Methods

Consecutive ischemic stroke patients admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital were recruited after excluding those with atrial fibrillation or poor temporal window. Quantitative measurements of IAC severity were assessed on brain CT scans. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography was performed to evaluate the blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and vertebral-basilar artery (VBA).

Results

In total, 318 patients were analyzed. Spearman’s correlation analysis demonstrated both high MCA systolic flow velocity and high MCA PI were correlated with IAC Agatston score, p < 0.001 individually. Similar correlation was also found between IAC Agatston score and high VBA velocity/high VBA PI, p ≤ 0.001 individually. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed IAC Agatston score was an independent risk factor for high MCA velocity (OR 1.533; 95% CI 1.235–1.903), high VBA velocity (OR 1.964; 95% CI 1.381–2.794), and high VBA PI (OR 1.200; 95% CI 1.016–1.418), respectively.

Conclusion

Heavier IAC might cause generalized artery flow velocity changes and increased pulsatility index, which may indicate high resistance within cerebrovasculature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaohong Wu

  2. Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong - Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Xiaohong Wu, Li Wang, Lin Shi, Yannie Soo, Thomas Leung, Ka Sing Wong & Xiangyan Chen

  3. The Cerebrovascular Disease Center, Guangdong Province Traditional Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jingxin Zhong

  4. Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Jacky Ko & Jill Abrigo

Authors
  1. Xiaohong Wu
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  2. Li Wang
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  5. Lin Shi
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  10. Xiangyan Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiangyan Chen.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) (Project Code: 11120161).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in the studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Clinical Research Ethics Committee and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cite this article

Wu, X., Wang, L., Zhong, J. et al. Impact of intracranial artery calcification on cerebral hemodynamic changes. Neuroradiology 60, 357–363 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-018-1988-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-018-1988-2

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