A 78-year-old man was referred to our institution with a predominantly progressive numbness of both legs, and bladder dysfunction with urinary retention. He was diagnosed as the symptomatic arteriovenous fistula of the filum terminale (AVFFT). A trans-arterial embolization (TAE) of the arteriovenous shunt was planned for his symptomatic AVFFT. The long distance between the origin of the radiculo meningeal artery (Th8) and the site of the fistula (S1) resulted in the first TAE having a feeder occlusion. The length of accessible feeder in the first TAE was the longest (about 40 cm) as the past reports of the endovascular therapy. However, complete shunt occlusion was accomplished at a second session two weeks after the initial TAE because a more accessible feeder was developed by the initial feeder occlusion.
Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is performed as a treatment for carotid artery stenosis. However, lipid-rich plaques cause embolic complications and sequelae. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can identify lipid components by applying a near-infrared absorption pattern, and the distribution of lipid components can be evaluated as the maximum lipid core burden index (maxLCBI). Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) equipped with NIRS has been clinically applied recently, and its diagnostic usefulness and validation have been reported for coronary arteries; however, its consistency with actual pathological diagnosis in carotid artery lesions has not been validated. In this study, we investigated the consistency between the maxLCBI values and histopathological diagnoses. Patients with cervical carotid artery stenosis who underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) were examined in this prospective study. Pathological diagnosis was determined after NIRS evaluation, which was performed on the extracted plaques
ex vivo
. The histological slices of decalcified and paraffin-embedded sections were stained by hematoxylin–eosin (HE) and Elastica van Gieson (EVG), and for low-density lipoprotein (LDL), C-reactive protein (CRP), CD68, and glycophorin A. The correlation between maxLCBI values and histological findings. Seventy lesions assessed by NIRS were pathologically analyzed. There was a positive linear correlation between maxLCBI values and pathological findings as determined by HE (angle), HE (area%), EVG, CRP, and CD68 staining (respectively, r = 0.624,
p
<0.001; r = 0.578,
p
<0.001; r = 0.534,
p
<0.001; r = 0.723,
p
<0.001; r = 0.653,
p
<0.001). In conclusion, the maxLCBI values assessed by NIRS showed a significant positive linear correlation with pathological evaluations in carotid lesions. The maxLCBI values in carotid arteries are consistent with pathological evaluations.
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