title: Left carotid adventitial vasa vasorum signal correlates directly with age and with left carotid intima-media thickness in individuals without atheromatous risk factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The early identification of the onset of subclinical atheromatosis is essential in reducing the high mortality risk from cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide. Although carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is the most commonly used early predictor of ongoing atherosclerosis, an experimental model of atherosclerosis, demonstrated that increases in adventitial microvessels (vasa vasorum (VV)) precede endothelial dysfunction. Using the reported accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) to measure carotid adventitial VV, this study assessed whether measurements of carotid adventitial VV serve as a marker of subclinical atherosclerotic lesions in a control population with none of the classical risk factors for CVD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Measurements of cIMT (B-mode ultrasound) and adventitial VV (CEU) were conducted in 65 subjects, 30-70 years old, 48% men, with none of the classical risk factors for CVD. Adventitial VV strongly correlated with its own cIMT only in the left carotid artery. Importantly, the left carotid adventitial VV directly correlated with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increases with age in left carotid adventitial VV in individuals with zero risk for atheromatosis suggest that the measurement of carotid adventitial VV could be an accurate and sensitive marker for the diagnosis of subclinical atheromatosis and therefore a prominent tool for monitoring the efficacy of anti-atheromatous therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. arcivicki@hotmail.com.|Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. arcivicki@hotmail.com.|Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. arcivicki@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Vittoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Arcidiacono
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. rubinatesther@gmail.com.|Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. rubinatesther@gmail.com.|Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. rubinatesther@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubinat
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. mmborras.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.
authors.forename: Mercè
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borras
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. angels.betriu.bars@gmail.com.|Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. angels.betriu.bars@gmail.com.|Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. angels.betriu.bars@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Angels
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Betriu
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. jtruji@cmb.udl.cat.|Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Universitario Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. jtruji@cmb.udl.cat.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trujillano
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. mtvidal.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.|Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. mtvidal.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. didac.mauricio@gmail.com.|Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. didac.mauricio@gmail.com.|Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Carretera Canyet S/N, 08916, Badalona, Spain. didac.mauricio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Didac
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mauricio
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. edfernandez.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.|Unitat de Detecció i Tractament de Malalties Aterotrombòtiques, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. edfernandez.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.|Institut de Recerca Biomedica de Lleida, University of Lleida, Avda Rovira Roure, 80, 25198, Lleida, Spain. edfernandez.lleida.ics@gencat.cat.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D063194:Adventitia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014651:Vasa Vasorum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*