경동맥 내막-중막 두께와 두개내 동맥 협착

Abstract

Background: Intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery serves as a marker of general atherosclerosis and the association of IMT with ischemic stroke has been documented. The purpose of our study is to explore whether carotid IMT is related with intracranial artery stenosis. Methods: We collected data of B-mode ultrasonographic measurements of carotid IMT and 3D-TOF MRA from 156 acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital between April in 2003 and March in 2004. The mean age was 65.5¡¾ 11.4 years (37 to 84 years) and 53.2 percent were male. Based on MRA finding, intracranial artery stenosis was defined as 50% or more narrowing of major intracranial artery. We divided these subjects into two groups (nostenosis vs. stenosis) and compared carotid IMT and various vascular risk factors with the stenosis of intracranial artery. Results: Of 156 patients, 85 had stenosis of intracranial artery on brain MRA. We found significant difference in age and carotid IMT, but not in other stroke risk factors between two groups. The carotid IMT was 0.72¡¾ 0.14 mm for the no-stenosis and 0.83¡¾0.20 mm for the stenosis (p<0.001). When we divided stenosis group into two subgroups (unifocal vs. multifocal or diffuse), the carotid IMT was 0.76¡¾0.15 mm for unifocal stenosis and 0 . 8 6¡¾0.21 mm for multifocal or diffuse stenosis (p<0.001). The age and carotid IMT were associated with intracranial stenosis independently on multivariate logistic regression procedure. Conclusions: The present study provides supportive evidence that carotid IMT is related to stenosis of intracranial artery. (Korean Journal of Stroke 2005;7(2): 179~185)