Demographic data: A total of 72 patients were enrolled in the operation group and 47 patients were enrolled in the control group. There was no statistical difference in demographic data (age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronal atherosclerosis heart disease, current smoker, HbA1c, TG, TC, LDL, HDL, uric acid, creatinine, obesity) between the operation group and the control group (Table 1).
CAS: Among the patients in the operation group, 19 patients were diagnosed with carotid artery stenosis—Grade 1, 38 patients were diagnosed with Grade 2 and 15 patients with Grade 3 respectively. The angiography outcomes of carotid artery before and after CAS are shown in Figure 1.
TCD: After CAS, the MFV (pre operation, post operation, 30-day follow-up: 47.65±17.24 cm/s, 62.37±18.25 cm/s, 70.29±16.89 cm/s; P=0.037 ) and PI (pre operation, post operation, 30-day follow-up: 0.78±0.21, 0.98±0.19, 1.02±0.20; P=0.018 ) increased significantly in the ipsilateral MCA. The CVR (post operation, 30-day follow-up: 27.47±12.13 cm/s, 31.92±10.94 cm/s; P=0.014) improved significantly at the 30-day follow-up. In patients with different degrees of stenosis, the more severe the stenosis in the carotid artery, the more obvious the improvement of CVR at the 30 days of follow-up (CVR changes: 11.08±7.95 cm/s, Kendall’s tau-b = 0.645, P< 0.001). But the CVR (pre-operation, post-operation: 23.39±10.21 cm/s, 27.47±12.13 cm/s; P=0.179) had no statistical change at 24 hours after CAS. The hemodynamic parameters of patients in the operation group evaluated by TCD are shown in Table 2.
MRI: Although some operative patients exhibited the neurological symptoms before CAS, we performed operation after the stage of acute cerebral infarction for the safety of the operation. So no hyperintense lesion was found in the patients’ DWI images before CAS. However, 29 patients showed the emerging hyperintense in DWI images after CAS. Among the 29 patients with positive DWI, ischemic events occurred in five patients (two patients had TIA, two patients had stroke, and one patient died), and the remaining 24 patients only showed the positive DWI without evidence of neurological deficits. These patients with negative DWI also had no neurological deficits after CAS. There was no evidence of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome, myocardial infarction and hemorrhage at the 30-day follow-up after CAS.
Biochemical markers: (1) There was no significant change in the serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B in the control patients after DSA (P = 0.081). After CAS, the serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B increased to the peak at T2, and then gradually decreased. The lowest values were exhibited at the 30 days after CAS (T2>T3>T4; P = 0.014). The serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B in patients in the control and operation groups are shown in Figure 2. (2) A total of 29 patients showed positive DWI after CAS, and their serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B were higher than patients with negative DWI at T2 (P = 0.019) and T3 (P = 0.030). However, there was no difference in GFAP and S100B at T4 of patients with negative or positive DWI after CAS. The data are shown in the Table 3. (3) The serum concentrations of GFAP (r = – 0.629, P < 0.0001) and S100B (r = – 0.604, P < 0.0001) correlated negatively with CVR at 30 days after CAS using Pearson’s correlation analysis (Figure 3A and 3B). (4) Among the five patients with post-operative clinical complications, the serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B in two patients with TIA increased temporarily at T2, and then returned to the basal level at T4. But for the two patients who had a stroke and one patient who died, the serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B increased continuously even at the 30-day follow-up after CAS. The patient who died maintained a higher level than the patient with stroke at any time points during the 1-month follow-up (Figure 4A and 4B).
Table 1. Demographic data in the patients in the control and operation groups
Variables
|
Operation Group (n=72)
|
Control Group (n=47)
|
T or χ2
|
P
|
Age (year)
|
69.34±7.56
|
64.25±10.83
|
-0.359
|
0.78
|
Sex (male)
|
47 (65.28)
|
27 (57.45)
|
1.002
|
0.09
|
Diabetes
|
33 (45.83)
|
10 (21.28)
|
0.358
|
0.07
|
Hypertsion
|
51 (70.83)
|
21 (70.00)
|
0.694
|
0.63
|
Coronal atherosclerosis heart disease
|
12 (16.67)
|
9 (19.15)
|
0.454
|
0.32
|
Current smoker
|
13 (18.06)
|
8(17.02)
|
1.369
|
0.35
|
TG (mmol/L)
|
1.80±0.80
|
1.50±0.68
|
0.001
|
0.10
|
TC (mmol/L)
|
4.50±1.81
|
3.52±1.40
|
-1.174
|
0.49
|
LDL(mmol/L)
|
2.03±0.70
|
1.89±0.78
|
0.583
|
0.69
|
HDL (mmol/L)
|
2. 25±0.43
|
2.18±0.72
|
0.557
|
0.58
|
HbA1c (%)
|
5.88±0.40
|
6.04±0.76
|
-2.000
|
0.11
|
Uric Acid (umol/L)
|
304.23±47.30
|
325.44±50.68
|
1.267
|
0.27
|
Creatinine (umol/L)
|
67.35±12.69
|
59.39±10.96
|
2.598
|
0.22
|
Obesity
|
18 (25.00)
|
9 (19.15)
|
0.546
|
0.51
|
Table 1: HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; hypertension, systolic pressure≥140 mmHg and diastolic pressure≥90 mmHg; obesity: body mass index≥30 kg/m2.TG, glycerin trilaurate. TC, total cholesterol. LDL, low density lipoprotein C. HDL, high-density lipoprotein.
Table 2. Hemodynamic parameters in the operation patients in the operation group
TCD Values
|
Pre Operation
|
Post Operation
|
30-Day Follow-Up
|
MFV(cm/s)
|
47.65±17.24
|
62.37±18.25*
|
70.29±16.89*
|
CVR(cm/s)
|
23.39±10.21
|
27.47±12.13&
|
31.92±10.94*
|
PI
|
0.78±0.21
|
0.98±0.19*
|
1.02±0.20*
|
Table 2: With the released of carotid artery stenosis and the reconstruction of cerebral blood flow after CAS, the MFV and PI increased significantly in the ipsilateral MCA (*P<0.05) ; the CVR improved significantly at the 30-day follow-up (*P<0.05); CVR showed no statistical difference at 24 hours after CAS (&P>0.05). TCD, transcranial Doppler; MFV, mean flow velocity; CVR, cerebrovascular reserve; PI, pulsatility index.
The serum concentrations of GFAP (2A) and S100B (2B) did not change significantly after DSA (&P >0.05).After CAS, the serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B increased to the peak at 24 hours after operation (T2), and then decreased gradually (T2>T3>T4; *P < 0.05).
Table 3. Serum concentrations of GFAP and S100B in patients with negative/positive DWI after CAS
Group
|
MRI
|
T1
|
T2
|
T3
|
T4
|
GFAP (pg/ml)
|
DWI(–)
|
24.734±11.384
|
30.039±13.803
|
26.038±13.294
|
20.109±12.263
|
DWI(+)
|
25.383±12.723&
|
32.028±14.927*
|
28.736±14.829*
|
21.732±12.728&
|
S100B
(ng/ml)
|
DWI(–)
|
1.837±0.937
|
2.180±1.185
|
1.623±0.896
|
0.782±0.289
|
DWI(+)
|
1.802±0.950&
|
2.478±1.283*
|
1.732±0.928*
|
0.872±0.398&
|
Table 3: The GFAP and S100B in the serum of patients with positive DWI showed higher concentrations than patients with negative DWI at T2 and T3 (*P < 0.05). However, there was no difference in GFAP and S100B at T4 in patients with negative and positive DWI after CAS (&P>0.05). DWI, diffusion-weighted imaging; CAS, carotid artery stenting.
Association between serum GFAP (3A, r = –0.629, P < 0.0001), S100B (3B, r = –0.604, P < 0.0001) and CVR at 30 days after CAS using Pearson’s correlation analysis.
The serum values of GFAP (4A) and S100B (4B) in two patients with TIA increased temporarily at 24 hours after operation (T2), and then returned to the basal level at 30 days after operation (T4). For the two patients with stroke and one patient who died, the serum GFAP and S100B increased permanently, and the patient who died maintained a higher level than the patients with stroke at any time points after operation.