title: Cardiovascular risk and neuroradiological profiles in asymptomatic vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinicoradiological variability of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) is known. Little is known about cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and neuroradiological profiles of asymptomatic VBD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 7,345 adults (5,534 men and 1,811 women) underwent physical checkup (PC) and brain magnetic resonance (MR) studies between 2004 and 2007. Asymptomatic VBD was diagnosed by neurological examination and MR angiography. Neuroradiological features were analyzed in VBD subjects. CVD risk factors were compared between VBD subjects and 5,000 controls matched by sex and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-six subjects (85 men and 11 women) had asymptomatic VBD. The detection rate was 1.3% and the male/female ratio 2.5. The mean age +/- SD was 60.4 +/- 10.6 years (60.0 +/- 10.2 in men and 64.0 +/- 13.1 in women). As compared to controls, the frequency of hypertension, obesity, smoking, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus and a family history of stroke or CVD was increased significantly in VBD subjects. The mean diameter +/- SD of the basilar artery (BA) was 4.7 +/- 0.2 mm. Only 4 subjects (4%) had a severe degree of elongation and lateral displacement of the BA. Contact of the vertebral artery with the rostral ventrolateral medulla (AMC) was found in 81 subjects: right AMC in 22 subjects and left AMC in 59 subjects. Frequency of hypertension was significantly higher in the left-AMC subjects (57%) than in subjects with right AMC (9%) and no AMC (5%). Other neuroradiological findings revealed small infarcts in 42 subjects, brainstem compression in 4, hydrocephalus in 4 and brain saccular aneurysm in 3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asymptomatic VBD was detected in 1.3% of the Japanese PC group. Our data indicated male predominance, multiple CVD risk factors, neurovascular hypertension and small infarcts in asymptomatic VBD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. keni@med.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takehisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirayama
authors.forename: Tokinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.forename: Riya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.forename: Kiyokazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawabe
authors.forename: Tetsuhito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiyozuka
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002533:Cerebral Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D007564:Japan; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis