| The Abnormalities of Retinal Arteriole in Atherothrombotic Ischemic Stroke Patients Representing the Changes of Cerebral Vasculature Indirectly. |
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Yun Ho Kim, Tae Dong Lee, Kyung Hoon Hahm, Min Chul Shin, Jong Hee Shon, Sang Moo Lee, Hui Chul Choi |
1Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Hallym university, Chunchon, Korea.
2Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Hallym university, Chunchon, Korea. dohchi@hallym.or.kr |
| 죽상혈전성 허혈성 뇌경색증 환자의 뇌혈관 변화를 간접적으로 나타내주는 망막 세동맥 변화 |
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김윤호1,이태동1,함경훈1,신민철1,손종희2,이상무2,최휘철2 |
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Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Hallym university1, Chunchon, Korea Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Hallym university2, Chunchon, Korea |
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Correspondence:
Yun Ho Kim, M.D.1 |
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| Abstract |
PURPOSE
Retinal blood vessels and cerebral small vessels possess similar characteristics anatomically, physiologically and embryologically. We studied the availability of abnormal fundus findings of patients who had an atherothrombotic ischemic stroke and who have the risk factors. METHODS: Fundus photographs and brain images were taken in patients who had a first-ever symptomatic ischemic stroke of large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) or small vessel occlusion (SVO) from March 2004 to February 2005. We analyzed the association between fundus abnormalities and ischemic stroke subtypes. RESULTS: Based on brain MRI and MRA, a total of 47 patients were classified into SVO and LAA groups. The SVO group consisted of 27 patients (mean age: 69.7 years), and the LAA group consisted of 20 patients (mean age: 65.4 years). The control group comprised 15 patients (mean age: 64.9 years). The baseline characteristics were similar among the three groups. The severity of the retinal arteriolar narrowing and sclerosis were associated with hypertension. Compared to the control group, both the SVO and LAA groups showed more severe arteriolar sclerosis, the SVO group showed more severe arteriolar narrowing and the LAA group showed more frequent AV crossing and retinal exudate. CONCLUSIONS: Retinal arteriolar abnormalities such as arteriolar narrowing and sclerosis are more severe in atherothrombotic ischemic stroke patients. Indirectly, retinal microvascular changes may indicate the status of the cerebral vasculature. Thus, analysis of fundus findings is useful for predicting an atherothrombotic ischemic stroke and planning follow-up examinations. |
| Key Words:
Brain images;Fundus photograph;Narrowing;Sclerosis;Stroke |
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