title: Carotid atherosclerosis in chronic renal failure-the central role of increased plaque burden.
abstract: Studies on carotid artery atherosclerosis have been performed in order to understand the high risk for cardiovascular disease in chronic renal failure (CRF). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent and nature of carotid artery atherosclerosis in patients with CRF. Of the 135 patients with CRF (52 +/- 11 years), 58 had moderate to severe predialysis CRF (PR), 36 were on dialysis treatment (DI), and 41 were renal transplant recipients (TR). In addition, 58 control subjects (CO) were examined. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), plaque prevalence, plaque score, and stiffness index beta were determined. Furthermore, plaque calcification and internal carotid artery stenoses were classified. Plaque prevalence (PR 64%, DI 61%, TR 51%, CO 28%; P < 0.001) and plaque score (PR 3.3 +/- 4.3, DI 3.0 +/- 3.4, TR 2.5 +/- 3.2, CO 0.8 +/- 1.7 mm; P < 0.001) were significantly greater in the CRF patient groups compared to the controls, whereas no difference in IMT was noted between the study groups. The prevalences of plaque calcification and internal carotid artery stenoses were higher among the CRF patient groups. In addition, the stiffness index beta was higher in the CRF patient groups. The present study shows that the characteristic alterations of the carotid arteries in CRF include increased plaque burden, calcification and increased arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000 FIN-33521, Tampere, Finland. yrjo.leskinen@uta.fi
authors.forename: Yrjö
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Leskinen
authors.forename: Terho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehtimäki
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loimaala
authors.forename: Visa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lautamatti
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kallio
authors.forename: Heini
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.forename: Juha P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Salenius
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology*