title: Histopathological Differences Between the Anterior and Posterior Brain Arteries as a Function of Aging.
abstract: We tested the hypothesis that posterior brain arteries differ pathologically from anterior brain arteries and that this difference varies with age.
  
  
  
  Brain large arteries from 194 autopsied individuals (mean age 56±17 years, 63% men, 25% nonwhite, 17% with brain infarcts) were analyzed to obtain the areas of arterial layers and lumen as well as the relative content of elastin, collagen, and amyloid. Visual rating was used to determine the prevalence of atheroma, calcification,vasa vasorum, pattern of intima thickening, and internal elastic lamina gaps. We used multilevel models adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, vascular risk factors, artery type and location, and multiple comparisons.
  
  
  
  Of 1362 large artery segments, 5% had vasa vasorum, 5% had calcifications, 15% had concentric intimal thickening, and 11% had atheromas. Posterior brain arteries had thinner walls, less elastin, and more concentric intima thickening than anterior brain arteries. Compared to anterior brain arteries, the basilar artery had higher arterial area encircled by the internal elastic lamina, whereas the vertebral arteries had higher prevalence of elastin loss, concentric intima thickening, and nonatherosclerotic stenosis. In younger individuals, vertebral artery calcifications were more likely than calcification in anterior brain arteries, but this difference attenuated with age.
  
  
  
  Posterior brain arteries differ pathologically from anterior brain arteries in the degree of wall thickening, elastin loss, and concentric intimal thickening.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morgello
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: Jay P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: Mitchell S V
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Elkind
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.).
authors.forename: Randolph S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons (W.R., J.P.M., M.S.V.E., R.S.M., J. Gutierrez), Department of Pathology and Cell Biology (J. Goldman), and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (M.S.V.E.), Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY (S.M.). jg3233@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology*; D001344:Autopsy; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: basilar artery; brain; collagen; elastin; risk factors