Relationship between peripheral arterial disease, carotid intima-media thickness and C-reactive protein in elderly diabetic patients

Purpose: To study the association between carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) level as markers for PAD in elderly patients with DM. Subjects: A case-control study on 90 participants aged 60 years and older divided into 60 cases (30 patients with DM alone and 30 patients with DM and comorbidities) and 30 healthy controls. All were assessed by measuring CIMT, ankle brachial index (AB), and markers for cardiovascular disease such as high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), and low density lipoprotein (LDL). Results: hs-CRP levels showed statistically significant difference being highest among patients with DM and comorbidities and lowest among controls (P < 0.001). Also, symptoms of PAD were significantly higher among cases than controls. ABI was able to detect PAD in many asymptomatic patients. Color changes were present in only 43.30% (n = 26) of positive PAD cases while delayed wound healing, claudication pain, rest pain, cold extremities, and trophic changes were present in 23.30% (n = 14), 16.71% (n = 10), 16.71% (n = 10), 45.00% (n = 27), and 21.7% (n = 13). Using logistic regression analysis revealed that DM, CIMT, and hs-CRP were independent predictors for PAD (OR = 4.194, 7.236, 1.003;P value = 0.044, 0.25, 0.031) after adjustment of other coronary risk factors such as sex, smoking, hypertension, TC, and TG. Conclusion: Diabetic elderly have higher prevalence of asymptomatic PAD thannon-diabetics using solely ABI. DM, CIMT, and hs-CRP are independent predictors for the occurrence of PAD. Hs-CRP levels are highest among diabetics with comorbidities.

Quality control of ultrasonic measurement of carotid artery intima-media thickness

Background To report quality control methods and baseline reproducibility data of the ultrasound measurements of carotid artery intima-media thickness in the project of Establishment of an Integrated System for Coronary Heart Disease Prevention and Treatment. Methods Standard ultrasound scanning and measuring protocols were established by the study group. All sonographers and readers were trained by the carotid ultrasound core lab and all digital ultrasound images were centrally read. Ten subjects were scanned twice （with 1 week interval） by 2 sonographers independently and images were read by a single reader to evaluate the sonographer variability. Twenty subjects＇ images were read twice （with 1 week interval） by a single reader to assess the reader variability and the reproducibility of IMT measured at different carotid segments. Results The intraclass correlation （ICC） of intra- and inter-sonographer and intra- reader for mean IMT measurements was 0.99, 0.98 and 0.97 respectively; while for max IMT, it was 0.97, 0.99 and 0.95 respectively. Among different carotid segments and sites, ICC for mean 1MT measurements of common carotid （CCA）, carotid artery bulb （Bulb）, internal carotid artery （ICA）, overall near wall and overall far wall was 0.97, 0.99, 0.89, 0.93 and 0.98 respectively. Conclusion The reproducibility of IMT measurements according to our protocol is acceptable, although better reproducibility is found when measuring the mean IMT than max IMT, CCA and Bulb IMT than ICA IMT, and far wall IMT than near wall IMT.

Coronary atherosclerosis burden is not advanced in patients with β-thalassemia despite premature extracardiac atherosclerosis： a coronary artery calcium score and carotid intima-media thickness study

Background Thalassemic patients demonstrate an increased rate of extracardiae vascular complications and increased carotid wall intima-media thickness （cIMT）, but very low prevalence of coronary artery disease （CAD）. We investigated the atheroma burden by assessing the coronary artery calcium （CAC） and elMT in these patients. Methods We examined 37 patients with β-thalassemia and 150 healthy control volunteers with multi-detector computer tomography （CT） and ultrasonography to determine CAC score and cIMT, respectively. Results Propensity score matching （C-statistic： 0.88; 95% CI： 0.83-0.93） resulted in 27 pairs of patients; severe CAC was observed in 2 （7.4%） and 0 of β-thalassemia patients and healthy volunteers respectively （P = 0.5）. Median calcium score was 0 （0-0） in β-thalassemia patients and 0 （0-4） in healthy volunteers （P = 0.8）. Median intima-media thickness was higher in β-thalassemia patients compared to control group [0.45 （0.06-0.65） vs. 0.062 （0.054-0.086）; P = 0.04]. Conclusions Patients with β-thalassemia in comparison with healthy control subjects exhibit similar CAC score and increased cIMT. Our findings indicate a disparate rate of progression of atherosclerosis between coronary and extracardiac arteries in these patients lending support to the epidemiological evidence.

A REVIEW ON ARTERY WALL SEGMENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS MEASUREMENT FOR CAROTID ULTRASOUND IMAGES

Stroke and heart attack,which could be led by a kind of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease named as atherosclerosis,would seriously cause human morbidity and mortality.It is important for the early stage diagnosis and monitoring medical intervention of the atherosclerosis.Carotid stenosis is a classical atherosclerotic lesion with vessel wall narrowing down and accumulating plaques burden.The carotid artery of intima-media thickness(IMT)is a key indicator to the disease.With the development of computer assisted diagnosis technology,the imaging techniques,segmentation algorithms,measurement methods,and evaluation tools have made considerable progress.Ultrasound imaging,being real-time,economic,reliable,and safe,now seems to become a standard in vascular assessment methodology especially for the measurement of IMT.This review firstly attempts to discuss the clinical relevance of measurements in clinical practice at first,and then followed by the challenges that one has to face when approaching the segmentation of ultrasound images.Secondly,the commonly used methods for the IMT segmentation and measurement are presented.Thirdly,discussion and evaluation of different segmentation techniques are performed.An overview of summary and future perspectives is given finally.

Metformin effect on internal carotid artery blood flow assessed by area under the curve of carotid artery Doppler in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

BACKGROUND Insulin resistance(IR)was reported in most polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS)cases.Metformin,a biguanide drug,successfully reduced IR.Homeostatic Model Assessment for IR(HOMA-IR)and Doppler parameters assessed metformin's effectiveness.AIM To verify whether the area under the curve of the internal carotid artery(AUC-ICA)Doppler wave can be a useful marker for assessing IR among PCOS cases who presented with menstrual irregularity and were treated with metformin over 6 mo.METHODS An observational,cross-sectional study recruited 54 eligible PCOS women;the anthropometrics were as follows:age,body mass index(BMI),menstrual cycle days,biochemical serum cholesterol,low and high-density lipoprotein,sex hormone-binding globulin,fasting blood glucose,and HOMA-IR,hormonal testosterone,luteinizing hormone over follicle-stimulating hormone ratio,and ultrasonic pulsatility index(PI)and resistance index(RI),carotid artery intima-media thickness(CIMT)and(AUC-ICA)parameters were initially recorded and repeated 3 mo and 6 mo later with metformin tab 500 mg;three times/day for 6 mo.In addition,AUC-ICA was assessed by taking repeated systolic and diastolic wave height measurements.RESULTS Metformin caused a progressive reduction in BMI,menstrual cycle days,biochemical hormonal,and Doppler parameters(CIMT,PI,RI,and AUC-ICA).AUC-ICA correlated strongly to all PCOS parameters.AUC-ICA correlated inversely with treatment time(r=-0.98,P<0.001)and positively with HOMA-IR(r=0.98,P<0.0001).Via the best subset regression model,the AUC-ICA had the highest predictive value for HOMA-IR.CONCLUSION AUC-ICA preceded PI,RI,and CIMT with a strong,meaningful correlation to all PCOS parameters,making it a reliable marker for the assessment of IR,especially during metformin therapy.Further studies are recommended to promote the application in practice.

Relationship between platelet-lymphocyte ratio and carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged and elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective:To investigate the relationship between platelet-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and carotid atherosclerosis(CAS)in middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM.Methods:A total of 420 middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM who were hospitalized in the Endocrinology Department of our hospital from September 2018 to September 2020 and were examined by ultrasound were selected as the subjects.The carotid artery intima-media thickness(CIMT)was examined by color Doppler ultrasonography,including normal CIMT group(n=111),CIMT thickening group(n=103)and CAS plaque group(n=206).The differences of serum PLR levels among the three groups were compared.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between PLR and CAS plaque formation.The receiver operating curve(ROC)was used to evaluate the value of multivariate Logistic regression model(Logit P)in the diagnosis of CAS lesions.Results:The mean value of PLR in CAS plaque group(127.86±48.54)was significantly higher than that in CIMT normal group(109.15±48.35).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for other confounding factors,the increase of PLR was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of CAS plaque.ROC showed that the efficacy of multivariate Logit P model in the diagnosis of CAS plaque was(AUC=0.807,95%CI=0.759-0.858).Conclusions:PLR is one of the important risk factors for the occurrence of CAS lesions.At the same time,the multivariate Logistic regression model established in this study has clinical reference value in predicting CAS lesions in middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM.

Clinical effect of long term aerobic exercise combined with Ginkgo Biloba Leaves Extract Tablets in the treatment of arteriosclerosis

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of long-term aerobic exercise combined with Ginkgo biloba leaves on atherosclerosis. Methods: 104 patients with carotid atherosclerosis admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical College from January 2016 to January 2018 were randomly divided into exercise training group and control group, 52 cases in each group. The control group was treated with Ginkgo biloba leaves, and the exercise training group was treated with long-term aerobic exercise combined with Ginkgo biloba leaves. Both groups were treated for 6 months. The therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared. Results: After treatment, the levels of TC, TG and LDL-C in the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the levels of HDL-C were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05);after treatment, the levels of TC, TG and LDL-C in the exercise training group were lower than those in the control group, and the levels of HDL-C were higher than those in the control group, with significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). After treatment, the CIM T and plaque area of the two groups were smaller than those before treatment, and the blood velocity of cerebral artery was higher than that before treatment (P<0.05);after treatment, the CIM T and plaque area of the exercise training group were smaller than those of the control group, and the blood velocity of left middle cerebral artery, right middle cerebral artery and basilar artery were higher than those of the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Long-term aerobic exercise combined with Ginkgo biloba leaf therapy can effectively reduce the blood lipid concentration in patients with carotid atherosclerosis and improve cerebral blood supply.

Relationship between plasma adipokines, inflammation, insulin resistance and subclinical atherosclerosis in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of subclinical atherosclerosis, evaluated by carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) in subjects with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Methods: A total of 167 subjects, 50 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic subjects and 117 non-diabetic subjects were included in the study. Obese and overweight newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients were matched for age and BMI with obese and overweight non-diabetic subjects. Only postmenopausal women were selected. The following biomarkers were analyzed: fasting glucose, HbA1c, fasting insulin, fasting proinsulin, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, adiponectin, leptin, hs-CRP, urine albumin/creatinine ratio. 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all subjects. Ultrasound imaging was used to evaluate IMT of the common carotid artery. Results: CIMT was greater in newly diagnosed type 2 patients compared to non-diabetic subjects. When analyzed by BMI, the difference regarding CIMT between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects was significant only in overweight subjects, in both sexes. In univariate analysis in men with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, CIMT was positively correlated with age, SBP, triglycerides, leptin and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol and in women CIMT was positively correlated with SBP and leptin. Independent determinants of CIMT in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes were in men age (β = 0.556, p = 0.0028) and log leptin (β = 0.393, p = 0.049) and in women systolic blood pressure (β = 0.48, p = 0.026). Conclusions: Subclinical atherosclerosis is present in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic subjects. Body fat accumulation in men and hypertension in postmenopausal women have a primary role in increase carotid intima-media thickness.

老年高血压合并糖尿病患者颈动脉粥样硬化的观察

目的 观察老年高血压患者合并2型糖尿病时对颈动脉内膜中层厚度的影响及血脂水平的变化,探讨此类患者颈动脉粥样硬化的特点.方法 将120例患者分为高血压组（EH组,60例）、高血压合并糖尿病组（EH＋DM组,60例）,并按性别年龄匹配对照组.采用高分辨率超声采集患者颈动脉内膜中层厚度数据并收集患者其他一般情况数据.结果 EH＋DM组及EH组患者血浆甘油三酯水平均明显升高,EH＋DM组低密度脂蛋白胆固醇明显增高,颈动脉内膜中层厚度及斑块发生率均明显高于EH组.结论 高血压患者一旦合并糖尿病,相对于单纯高血压患者,其血脂异常及动脉粥样硬化的危险均增加,更易形成斑块.

2型糖尿病合并高血压患者颈动脉内膜-中层厚度的改变

目的 :探讨 2型糖尿病合并高血压患者颈动脉粥样硬化的特点。方法 :采用超声多普勒技术高频探头对 12 3例 2型糖尿病 (其中合并高血压 64例 )及 79例正常对照进行了颈动脉内膜 -中层厚度 (CAIMT)、颈动脉内径 (CADIA)及斑块的测定。结果 :CAIMT<0 .8m m与≥ 0 .8m m组比较 ,≥ 0 .8mm组患者年龄、糖尿病病程、高血压病程、合并高血压例数、SBP、WHR、FINS、CHO、TG、UAL B较 <0 .8mm组明显增高 ,斑块指数更大。结论 :2型糖尿病与高血压二者的综合因素比单纯糖尿病 CAIMT增厚更明显 。

Evaluation of the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in newly diagnosed nondiabetic hypertensive patients with carotid atherosclerosis

Background Carotid intimal thickness(IMT),a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis,was widely used for predicting cardiovascular events. Recent studies have shown that inflammation plays a vital role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR)is a new marker of inflammation because it is closely related to cardiovascular,metabolic and inflammatory diseases. However,the relationship between NLR and carotid atherosclerosis is currently unknown. Methods A total of 882 patients underwent blood sampling for neutrophil and lymphocyte counts,serum lipids,total homocysteine(tHcy),and carotid scan by ultrasonography(US)to evaluate abnormalities of carotid wall. Results NLR was found to be statistically significantly higher in the carotid atherosclerosis group(2.0±0.8 vs. 1.7±0.6,P<0.001). The NLR,expressed as both quartiles(odds ratio[OR],2.36;95% confidence interval[CI],1.37 to 3.47;P=0.001)and continuous values(OR,1.83;95% CI,1.43 to 2.33;P<0.001),was significantly associated with a higher risk for carotid atherosclerosis. The optimal NLR cutoff value for detecting carotid atherosclerosis was 1.60 based on receiver operating curve(ROC)analysis with a sensitivity of 64.0% and a specificity of 57.0%. Conclusion NLR is significantly associated with carotid atherosclerosis in newly diagnosed nondiabetic hypertensive patients.