BACKGROUND In a Caucasian population, the prevalence and incidence of hypertension, renal function and large artery stiffness were significantly correlated with polymorphisms in the genes encoding the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE I/D), aldosterone synthase (-C344T) and the cytoskeleton protein alpha-adducin (Gly460Trp). OBJECTIVE This study investigated intima-media thickening, a precur...

The established method of polarized microscopy in combination with a universal stage is used to determine the layer-specific distributed collagen fibre orientations in 11 human non-atherosclerotic thoracic and abdominal aortas and common iliac arteries (63 ± 15.3 years, mean ± s.d.). A dispersion model is used to quantify over 37 000 recorded fibre angles from tissue samples. The study resulted...

A multilayered model of the aortic wall is introduced to investigate the transport of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) under hypertension, taking into account the influences of increased endothelial cell turnover and deformation of the intima at higher pressure. Meanwhile, the thickness and properties of the endothelium, intima, internal elastic lamina (IEL), and media are affected by the transmur...

This paper provides the first analysis of the three-dimensional state of residual stress and stretch in an artery wall consisting of three layers (intima, media and adventitia), modelled as a circular cylindrical tube. The analysis is based on experimental results on human aortas with non-atherosclerotic intimal thickening documented in a recent paper by Holzapfel et al. (Holzapfel et al. 2007 ...

In microvascular head and neck reconstruction, various factors such as diabetes, alcohol consumption, preoperative radiation hold a risk for flap loss. The primary objective of this study was to examine the vessel morphology both recipient donor vessels identify predictors changes in diameters H.E.-stained specimens associated with loss prospective setting. Artery vein samples (N = 191) were co...

In this study we have examined the possible focal and regional nature of aortic cholesterol accumulation in pigs receiving a cholesterol-containing diet for 6 to 16 weeks. Using uptake of the protein-binding azo dye Evans Blue as a marker for focal areas of increased aortic endothelial permeability in viva, we have found a significantly greater intimal accumulation of cholesterol in areas of dy...

The vascular effects of normal pregnancy were investigated by estimating the intima and media thicknesses of the common carotid artery separately using 22-MHz ultrasound (Collagenoson, Meudt, Germany) in 57 healthy women with normal pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes, in all three trimesters and at 1 yr postpartum. A thick intima, thin media, and high intima-to-media (I/M) ratio are signs of a ...

OBJECTIVE Endothelial dysfunction plays a key role in the development, progression, and clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis, and in symptomatic peripheral arterial disease, endothelial dysfunction and enlarged intima-media thickness might be associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Flow-mediated dilatation and serologic parameters are used to evaluate individual endothelial function...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this report is to describe an automatic real-time system for evaluation of the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) characterized by 3 main features: minimal interobserver and intraobserver variability, real-time capabilities, and great robustness against noise. METHODS One hundred fifty carotid B-mode ultrasound images were used to validate the system. Two skilled o...

abstract introduction: non-invasive measurement of carotid intima media thickness (imt) has been noted as a marker for atherosclerosis and can serve as a predictor of cardiovascular accidents. the present study investigates the relationship between carotid imt and coronary artery disease (cad). method: this is a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study of 300 individuals referring to isfah...