title: Vascular Function and Intima-media Thickness of a Leg Artery in Peripheral Artery Disease: A Comparison of Buerger Disease and Atherosclerotic Peripheral Artery Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Both vascular function and structure are independent predictors of cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate vascular function and structure of a leg artery in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation (NID) as indices of vascular function and intima-media thickness (IMT) as an index of vascular structure of the popliteal artery in 100 subjects, including 20 patients with Buerger disease and 30 patients with atherosclerotic PAD, 20 age- and sex-matched subjects without Buerger disease (control group) and 30 age- and sex-matched patients without atherosclerotic PAD (control group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  IMT was significantly larger in the Buerger group than in the control group (Buerger, 0.63± 0.20 mm; control, 0.50±0.07 mm; P=0.01), whereas there were no significant differences in FMD and NID between the two groups. IMT was significantly larger in the atherosclerotic PAD group than in the control group (atherosclerotic PAD, 0.80±0.22 mm; control, 0.65±0.14 mm; P＜0.01), and FMD and NID were significantly smaller in the atherosclerotic PAD group than in the control group (FMD: atherosclerotic PAD, 3.9%±1.1%; control, 5.0%±1.8%; P＜0.01; and NID: atherosclerotic PAD, 6.1%±2.0%; control, 8.4%±2.1%; P＜0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that vascular function is preserved in patients with Buerger disease and that both vascular function and vascular structure are impaired in patients with atherosclerotic PAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University.
authors.forename: Akimichi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajikawa
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruhashi
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Nozomu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Yasuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kihara
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chayama
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aibara
authors.forename: Ayumu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Yukihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Higashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013919:Thromboangiitis Obliterans / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016909:Tibial Arteries / Q000502:physiology*