Huilin Zhao1, Xihai Zhao2, Ye Cao1,
Jinnan Wang3, Chun Yuan2, Xiangyang Ma4,
Jianrong Xu1
1Radiology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai
Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2Radiology,
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; 3Philips
Research North America, Briarcliff Manor, NY, United States; 4Philips
Research Asia, Shanghai, China
Carotid
atherosclerosis has been demonstrated to be associated with cerebrovascular
events (TIA or stroke). Thus, atherosclerotic disease in carotid arteries may
be an effective indicator for the severity and outcomes of stroke, such as
cerebral infarct volumes. This study sought to determine the association
between carotid plaque burden and cerebral ischemic lesion volume by MRI in
43 symptomatic patients. We found a strong correlation of left carotid artery
plaque burden with ispilateral cerebral hemisphere ischemic lesion volumes.
Our findings suggest that carotid plaque burden may be a potential imaging
indicator for acute cerebral ischemic lesion volume.