RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Microembolic signals (MES) are detectable in the middle cerebral artery by transcranial ultrasound downstream to atherosclerotic lesions of the internal carotid artery (ICA) in patients with stroke or transient ischaemic attack. The occurrence of MES predicts future risk of stroke in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis. The detection of intra-plaque neo-vascularization by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in atherosclerotic plaques of the ICA is associated with future cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events. We investigated whether there is an association between both surrogate markers of future vascular events. METHODS: Forty-one patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic plaques underwent ipsilateral transcranial ultrasound MES detection for 30 min followed by a CEUS investigation of the plaque. The occurrence and number of MES was documented, and the degree of intra-plaque neo-vascularization was measured semi-quantitatively. RESULTS: During the 30 min investigation, 17 patients had MES and nine of them showed neo-vascularization of the atherosclerotic plaque. The remaining 24 patients did not have MES, and only in four patients of this group could plaque neo-vascularization be demonstrated (P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: We found an association between the occurrence of MES and the presence of neo-vascularization in patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic carotid plaque. Therefore, plaque neo-vascularization might also be a surrogate marker of future stroke risk.
Asunto(s)
Estenosis Carotídea/diagnóstico por imagen , Embolia Intracraneal/diagnóstico por imagen , Neovascularización Patológica/diagnóstico por imagen , Placa Aterosclerótica/diagnóstico por imagen , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Arteria Carótida Interna/diagnóstico por imagen , Estenosis Carotídea/complicaciones , Femenino , Humanos , Embolia Intracraneal/complicaciones , Ataque Isquémico Transitorio/diagnóstico por imagen , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Neovascularización Patológica/etiología , Placa Aterosclerótica/complicaciones , Accidente Cerebrovascular/diagnóstico por imagen , Ultrasonografía Doppler TranscranealRESUMEN
Radioactivity found in wild food products has assumed greater importance when assessing the total exposure of the population. For this reason, IRMM has been developing a reference material for the activity concentration of three radionuclides in bilberry samples. In order to characterise this new material, a CCRI(II) supplementary comparison was organised. The difficulties encountered in this comparison are discussed, in particular the efficiency calibration for volume sources of gamma-ray emitters, and comparison reference values for (137)Cs and (40)K are calculated.