<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vavuranakis, Manolis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sigala, Fragiska</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vrachatis, Dimitrios A</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Papaioannou, Theodore G</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Filis, Konstantinos</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kavantzas, Nikolaos</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kalogeras, Konstantinos I</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Massoura, Constantina</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Toufektzian, Levon</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kariori, Maria G</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vlasseros, Ioannis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kallikazaros, Ioannis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Stefanadis, Christodoulos</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quantitative analysis of carotid plaque vasa vasorum by CEUS and correlation with histology after endarterectomy.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vasa</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vasa</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Aged</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Antigens, CD</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Antigens, CD34</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Biomarkers</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Carotid Arteries</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Carotid stenosis</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">CD3 Complex</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">CD68 Molecule</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Contrast Media</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Endarterectomy, carotid</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Female</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Immunohistochemistry</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Male</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Microbubbles</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Middle Aged</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Neovascularization, Pathologic</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Phospholipids</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plaque, Atherosclerotic</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Predictive Value of Tests</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Reproducibility of Results</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Severity of Illness Index</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sulfur Hexafluoride</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ultrasonography, Doppler</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vasa vasorum</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013 May</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">42</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">184-95</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">BACKGROUND: Intraplaque neovascularization and vasa vasorum (VV) proliferation contribute in the progression and rupture of atherosclerotic lesions. Contrast enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) has been reported to attain data regarding intraplaque neovessels and VV. However, whether the detection of microbubbles by CEUS within atherosclerotic plaques truly represents microvessels is a point of concern. We aimed to evaluate stable and unstable carotid artery plaque (CAP) VV pattern by CEUS and its correlation with histology and immunochemistry.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with CAP scheduled for plaque endarterectomy were enrolled. CAP was initially identified by conventional ultrasonography and subsequently CEUS (harmonic ultrasound imaging with simultaneous intravenous contrast agent injection) was performed. The recorded image loops were evaluated by a semi-automated method. Plaque specimens were excised and underwent histological and immunochemical (for CD34, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, CD68 and CD3 antibodies) analysis.

RESULTS: Fourteen patients (67.6 ± 10.2 years, 10 males) with a 86.9 ± 11.5 % degree of carotid artery stenosis were evaluated. Histology showed that half of the plaques were unstable. Enhancement of plaque brightness on CEUS was significant for both stable and unstable plaque subgroups (p = 0.018 for both). Immunochemistry showed that microvessels, as assessed by CD34 antibody, were more dense in unstable vs. stable plaques (36.6 ± 17.4 vs. 13.0 ± 7.2 respectively, p = 0.002). However, correlation between plaque brigthness enhancement on CEUS and microvessel density was significant only for stable (r = 0.800, p = 0.031) plaques.

CONCLUSIONS: The identification of brightness enhacement during CEUS in carotid atherosclerotic plaques may not always reflect the presence of VV.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">3</style></issue><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23644370?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record></records></xml>