Yihua Wang

Endovascular interventional therapy and classification of vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms

The current study aimed to summarise the clinical features and classifications of vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms (VADAs) to optimise strategies for endovascular interventional therapy. The clinical features and results of 31 inpatients with VADA were retrospectively analysed. The aneurysms were classified according to their location and association between the aneurysm and posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA), and into subtypes according to the developmental state of the contralateral vertebral artery. Different endovascular interventional therapy strategies were selected for each classification. Three types of aneurysm with two subtypes each were identified. An aneurysm located distally to the PICA was termed type I (10/31 patients). Aneurysms with a contralateral vertebral artery were denoted as subtype a (type Ia, 6/31 patients) and aneurysms with hypoplasia of the contralateral vertebral artery were denoted as subtype b (type Ib, 4/31 patients). An aneurysm located at the origin of the PICA was termed type II (13/31 patients), with seven cases classified as IIa and six cases as IIb. An aneurysm located proximally to the PICA was termed type III (8/31 patients), with five cases classified as IIIa and three cases as IIIb. Among the 31 patients, 18 received stent-assisted coiling, two received coiling, 10 received coiling with parent artery occlusion and one patient received conservative treatment. Among the 31 patients with VADA, 21 were occluded completely, nine were partially occluded and one was not occluded. One patient developed a coma following coiling; however, the other 30 patients recovered well. Thus, the classification of an aneurysm based on its location and the developmental state of the contralateral vertebral arteries appears to be an effective and safe approach for the selection of appropriate endovascular interventional therapy strategies.

Long-term follow-up study of 35 cases after endovascular treatment for vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms

OBJECTIVE Vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysm (VBDA) management is challenging despite the availability of multiple treatment strategies. We reviewed our experiences using endovascular treatment for VBDA patients to assess the efficacy and safety of several VBDA treatment strategies. METHODS Assisted by intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography, 35 patients in our hospital were treated using various VBDA treatment strategies, including stent-assisted coil embolization (20 patients), placement of single or multiple overlapping stents (5 patients) or coil embolization combined with proximal coil trapping of the dissected segment of the parent artery (CE+PT; 10 patients). We retrospectively reviewed the perioperative records of all 35 patients and the post-procedure angiographic and clinical outcomes of 31 available patients. RESULTS Of the 25 cases with ruptured VBDAs, 14 underwent stent-assisted coil embolization, 2 underwent multiple overlapping stent placement and 9 underwent CE+PT. Perioperative complications occurred in four cases (16.0%), including one aneurysm rupture and one parent artery thrombosis during the procedure and two incidences of brainstem ischemia after the procedure. Clinical outcome evaluations were performed using the Modified Rankin Scale and resulted in the following scores: 0-2 for 22 patients (22/25, 88.0%), 5 for one patient (1/25, 4.0%) and 6 for two patients (2/25, 8.0%). No cerebral bleeding events or deaths occurred during the follow-up period. Of the 10 cases with unruptured VBDAs, six underwent stent-assisted coil embolization, three underwent single or multiple overlapping stent placement and one patient underwent CE+PT. All 10 of the patients with unruptured VBDAs had favorable clinical and radiologic outcomes without procedure-related complications. CONCLUSIONS For patients with ruptured VBDAs, the complication rate associated with endovascular treatment is acceptable. CE+PT is better than stent coiling in preventing aneurysmal rerupture, but is associated with a high incidence of ischemic stroke. For unruptured VBDAs, endovascular treatment is associated with good clinical outcome without perioperative complications, including rerupture and ischemic stroke. However, the high postoperative recurrent aneurysm risk suggests the necessity of long-term angiographic follow-up monitoring of VBDA patients who undergo endovascular treatments.

To evaluate the Changes of the expression and activity of Phosphodiesterase V in the Basilar Artery Before and After Cerebral Vasospasm in Rabbits model

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Mir-24 reduces serum lipid levels and inhibits brain tissue cells apoptosis of rats with cerebral infarction

AIM To study miR-24 effects on cerebral infarction in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS A rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model (MCAO) was constructed. Intracerebroventricular stereotactic injection of miR-24 agomir/antagomir was performed in the rat MCAO model. According to different experiences, rats were divided into normal, sham, MCAO, miR-24 agomir and miR-24 antagomir groups. Serum TCH, HDL and TG levels were detected. RESULTS Comparingthe normal and sham groups, we observed decreased relative miR-24 expression (p < 0.05) and increased cerebral infarction area percentage, apoptotic cells and relative caspase-3 protein expression (p < 0.05) in theMCAO, miR-24 agomirand miR-24 antagomir groups. TC, TG and HDL-C levels of the MCAO and miR-24 antagomir groups were higher than those of normal and sham groups (p < 0.05).Compared with the MCAO group, increased relative miR-24 expression (p < 0.05) and decreased TC, TG and HDL-C levels,cerebral infarction area percentage, number of apoptotic cells and caspase-3 expression (p < 0.05) were found in themiR-24 agomir group, contrasting with theobservations from the miR-24 antagomir group. CONCLUSION miR-24 reduced serum TCH, HDL and TG levels and inhibited brain tissue cell apoptosis in rats with cerebral infarction.

Risk factors for the recurrence of an intracranial saccular aneurysm following endovascular treatment

Background This study was aimed to determine risk factors for the recurrence of an intracranial saccular aneurysm (ISA) following endovascular treatment. The findings will help medical professionals to identify patients having a high risk of ISA recurrence and assist them in developing appropriate follow-up plans. Results During the follow-up period, 12.6% of the patients (83/658) experienced recurrent ISAs. An analysis of related factors, including gender, age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, tumor size, width of the aneurysm neck, the presence or absence of a rupture, the volume embolization ratio (VER), the application or nonapplication of a stent, and follow-up time, revealed that a tumor size > 10 mm in diameter, wide-necked aneurysms, an anterior communicating or middle cerebral artery aneurysm, an aneurysm rupture, a VER < 20%, the absence of stent assistance, and follow-up time were high-risk factors for the recurrence of ISAs. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 658 patients who underwent endovascular treatment for ISAs from January 2010 through December 2014. Multivariable logistic regression was performed on the candidates’ risk factors, which were identified via univariable screening analysis. Conclusions Smoking, a large tumor size, a wide-necked aneurysm, an anterior communicating or middle cerebral artery aneurysm, an aneurysm rupture, a VER < 20%, and an absence of stent assistance are significant risk factors for the postoperative recurrence of an aneurysm. Strict follow-up plans should be created for ISA patients having these high-risk factors.