• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.82-91
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• 2021

Carotid duplex ultrasound is commonly used to diagnose various carotid artery diseases due to it being noninvasive and easy to perform. Carotid atherosclerosis is a major indicator for the need to perform carotid duplex ultrasound, which can determine the degree of stenosis, plaque characteristics, and intima-media thickness. It can also be used to screen and follow-up after carotid revascularization. Here we discuss the standard techniques, interpretations, and clinical indicators for carotid duplex ultrasounds.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.198-207
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• 2015

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary artery are well-known atherosclerotic vascular diseases. However, the difference of intima-media thickness and plaque characteristics of carotid arteries between STEMI and CTO patients were not directly compared in previous studies. Medical records of a total of 158 (101 STEMI, 57 CTO) patients, who underwent carotid artery ultrasonography, were selected for the analysis. The baseline characteristics, ultrasonography findings, and clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in CTO patients. Carotid intima-media thickness ($0.97{\pm}0.13$ vs. $0.78{\pm}0.17cm$, P < 0.0001) and number of plaques ($2.2{\pm}1.0$ vs. $1.7{\pm}1.2$, P < 0.0001) were greater in CTO than STEMI patients. Multiple (${\geq}3$) or echogenic plaques were more frequently observed in CTO patients. During the median follow-up duration of 27 months, major adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 31% of CTO and 14% of STEMI patients (P = 0.008). We found that, compared with STEMI, CTO patients have higher burden of carotid artery atherosclerosis associated with more comorbid diseases and poor clinical outcomes.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.284-291
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• 2018

The role of androgens in the development of cardiovascular diseases remains controversial. The current study therefore sought to determine the changes in the histomorphology of the common carotid artery of the male rat in orchidectomy-induced hypogonadism. Twenty-two Rattus norvegicus male rats aged 2 months were used. The rats were randomly assigned into baseline (n=4), experimental (n=9), and control (n=9) groups. Hypogonadism was surgically induced in the experimental group by bilateral orchiectomy under local anesthesia. At experiment weeks 3, 6, and 9, three rats from each group (experimental and control) were euthanized, their common carotid artery harvested, and routine processing was done for paraffin embedding, sectioning, and staining. The photomicrographs were taken using a digital photomicroscope for morphometric analysis. Orchidectomy resulted in the development of vascular fibrosis, with a significant increase in collagen fiber density and decrease in smooth muscle and elastic fiber density. Moreover, there was development of intimal hyperplasia, with fragmentation of medial elastic lamellae in the common carotid artery of the castrated rats. Orchidectomy induces adverse changes in structure of the common carotid artery of the male rat. These changes may impair vascular function, therefore constituting a possible structural basis for the higher incidences of cardiovascular diseases observed in hypogonadism.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.1096-1100
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• 2017

The carotid artery is one of the main vessels supplying blood to the brain. Carotid artery stenosis is mostly caused by atherosclerosis, a disease where cholesterol is deposited in the arterial blood vessels. Tremor refers to rhythmic shaking of a body part. Tremor is a symptom of many diseases, including Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, orthostatic tremor, cerebellar disease, peripheral neuropathy, and alcohol withdrawal. Tremors may be classified as postural, rest, and action tremors. Tremor of a patient with stenosis of the left carotid artery decreased with acupuncture treatment. The acupoints were GB20, TE17, GV8 and GV11. This case shows that the acupuncture treatment is effective against tremor.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.131-136
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• 2021

Duplex sonography is used widely in various medical fields because of its repeatability and low cost. In particular, the carotid duplex sonography is a useful non-invasive test for diagnosing cerebrovascular disease and predicting the prognosis. In clinical practice, it is very important to reduce the test time and improve accuracy. The patient's clinical information must be known in advance to perform carotid duplex sonography quickly and accurately. Despite this, there are often difficulties finding new cervical vascular diseases that are not mentioned in the clinical information. Therefore, knowing a variety of cases can lead to fast and accurate results. In this context, this paper reports three cases of cervical vascular disease discovered unexpectedly during carotid duplex sonography: CASE 1, internal carotid artery occlusion and cerebral arteries branched from the external carotid artery; CASE 2, internal jugular vein thrombosis; CASE 3, microembolism observed in the vertebral artery.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.391-396
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to present basic research data to utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with analyzing intracerebral regional distributions of ischemic cerebrovascular disease of middle aged and oldest-old aged people. We retrospectively analyzed middle-aged group (average age of 44.2 year-old, 43 males, 26 females) and oldest-old aged group (average age of 84.7 year-old, 58 males, 71 females) who taken MRI screening for ischemic cerebrovascular disease from May 2006 year to January 2008 year. The intracerebral vascular were classified into 8 vessels, which anterior communication artery (ACoA), posterior communication artery (PCoA), anterior cerebral artery (ACA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA), internal carotid artery (ICA), common carotid artery(CCA), and basilar artery (BA). The result of middle-aged group showed that more ischemic cerebrovascular diseases appeared in men than women, and it affected in MCA mostly. In oldest-old aged group, ischemic cerebrovascular diseases occurred evenly spaced in intracerebral region of right, left, and both vessels, and women have more than men. For men, the most occurred in ICA and for women the most occurred in MCA. Specially middle-aged group in men showed that more ischemic cerebrovascular diseases in MCA appeared than oldest-old aged group in men. It is suggested that the analysis on ischemic cerebrovascular could be helpful in the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.186-189
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• 2011

In recent years the immunocompromised population has increased rapidly to include people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), drug abusers, and transplant patients. Accordingly, the incidence of intracranial fungal infection has increased. Our institution experienced 2 cases of internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion due to invasion of the cavernous sinus by an intracranial fungal infection. The first case was a 60-year-old man who presented with headache, eye pain, conjunctival injection, right-sided diplopia, and blurred vision. Infected tissues within the frontal and ethmoid sinuses were removed via bifrontal craniotomy and endoscopic sinus surgery through the Caldwell Luc approach. The second case was a 63-year-old woman who developed right-sided facial pain after a tooth extraction. The infection was not controlled despite continuous use of antifungal agents, resulting in death from sepsis. We believe that when intracranial fungal infection is suspected in a patient with orbital symptoms and a focal neurologic deficit, immediate angiographic investigation of possible ICA occlusion is warranted. Aggressive treatment with antifungal agents is the only way to improve prognosis.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.234-237
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• 2017

This study is aimed to optimize a location of region of interest (ROI) in test bolus carotid contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) at 3.0T. A total of consecutive 270 patients with no cardiovascular and vessel diseases were selected. Patients underwent elliptical centric 3D CE-MRA with the test bolus technique to identify the individual arterial arrival time. Quantitative measurements were performed by drawing ROIs of $25mm^2$ and signal intensities (SI) were measured in the center of common carotid artery (CCA), internal carotid artery (ICA) and aortic arch (AA). As a result, ROIs located within AA showed a significantly clarified arterial peak and over three times increased SI, while no significant arterial peak time differences were observed compared to ROIs located within CCA. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the aortic arch is the optimal position to locate ROI in test bolus images of the carotid CE-MRA.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2013

Increased intima-media thickness(IMT) of the common carotid artery is an early marker of atherosclerosis and a powerful predictor of coronary and cerebrovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between carotid artery IMT and cardiovascular risk factors. Total 134 adult were performed with Ultrasonography to measure IMT at common carotid artery, the physical measurements and blood tests, the following results were obtained. As a result, IMT showed higher value in male IMT than female IMT. And, the IMT increased according to the age increased. Also, TC and AI have positive significant correlation with IMT. In Conclusion, cardiovascular risk factors with adult are associated with increased IMT of common carotid artery.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.283-288
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• 2024

Purpose: Given the growing use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, this study assessed radiation exposure from these scans in the context of national guidelines and recommended dose limits. Materials and Methods: The current literature was reviewed to quantify the benefit of opportunistic diagnosis of carotid artery calcification relative to the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer. Results: The average radiation from CBCT at its largest field of view and highest resolution possible amounts to a reasonable but still low ionizing radiation exposure. This exposure is comparable to 22 days of background radiation and is notably lower than the radiation exposure from medical CT scans. According to the risk assessment analysis, the risk of stroke events involving internal and external carotid artery calcification (CAC) was 202 and 67 per 100,000 individuals, respectively. In contrast, the estimated risk of radiation-induced cancer associated with CBCT was notably lower, at 0.6 per 100,000. Conclusion: The present study advocates for a comprehensive assessment of CBCT scans encompassing the areas of the internal and external carotid arteries by a knowledgeable professional, given the potential advantages of early detection of vascular abnormalities. Dental professionals who take scans involving these areas need to be mindful of reporting these findings and refer patients to their primary care physician for further investigation.