Association between carotid plaque and Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies show that patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are prone to have a reduced incidence of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Previous studies show the correlation between PD and the lipids serum levels. The PD,s patients are found with a reduced serum level of triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); thus, the level of serum uric acid (UA) is closely related to the occurrence and development of PD. Patients with low serum UA levels have a higher chance of developing PD than the ones who do not. However, the relationship between carotid plaques and PD is still unknown. Methods: Our study was based on 68 patients with PD (known as the PD group) and 81 people without PD (known as the control group). Patients in the PD group were of the same age and gender. Both groups were recorded and analyzed for UA, LDL-C, and carotid plaques or intima-media thickness (IMT). The PD group was then divided into three subgroups: the stable plaque group, the unstable plaque group, and the non-plaque group. Results: In the present study, the PD group showed a significantly lower level of UA and LDL-C than the control group (P<0.01); somehow there were no statistically significant differences in the IMT and plaque incidence between the two groups (P>0.05). There were also no significant differences (P>0.05) in both the LDL-C and UA levels in all subgroups, but there was a close relation in both age and duration of disease to IMT. According to the Hoehn and Yahr staging scale, serum levels of LDL-C were inversely correlated in PD patients, while UA was related to the duration of the disease. Conclusions: Our study suggested that there were no differences in carotid artery arteriosclerosis plaque and IMT, but the PD progress was indeed correlated with IMT. Meanwhile, LDL-C and UA had different priorities in H&Y and disease progression.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk markers in Parkinson’s disease: Results from a case−control study

“…Conversely, Marsala et al [33] reported a lower CIMT in 30 PD patients with a mean disease duration of 13 years, when compared to a matched control group with the same demographic characteristics. Finally, in parallel to our negative results, Yan et al [36] and Lee et al [28] did not find differences between early stages of PD and controls regarding CIMT. As suggested in a previous study, Yan et al [36] also reported that disease duration was correlated with CIMT, which we could not evaluate since we only included early‐stage PD patients.…”

“…Finally, in parallel to our negative results, Yan et al [36] and Lee et al [28] did not find differences between early stages of PD and controls regarding CIMT. As suggested in a previous study, Yan et al [36] also reported that disease duration was correlated with CIMT, which we could not evaluate since we only included early‐stage PD patients.…”

“…Finally, in parallel to our negative results, Yan et al [36] and Lee et al [28] did not find differences between early stages of PD and controls regarding CIMT. As suggested in a previous study, Yan et al [36] also reported that disease duration was correlated with CIMT, which we could not evaluate since we only included earlystage PD patients. Contrary to our hypothesis that lower blood pressure profiles could be protective to PD patients, there was no difference regarding 24-h and daytime blood pressure levels.…”

“…This could be related to many factors that could influence CIMT rather than cerebrovascular risk factors, such as the ones related to the population assessed like ethnicity [32] the ones related to the methods of image acquisition: the number of carotid segments evaluated, the type of measurements made, the number of imaging angles used, whether plaques were included in the CIMT measurement, or the report of adjusted or unadjusted models [30]. All these potential confounders of CIMT may have contributed to the controversial results of previous studies focusing on CIMT in PD patients [28,[33][34][35][36]. Alexa et al [34] and Nakaso et al [35] reported a higher CIMT in PD patients, although in the latter study this difference was only statistically significant for more severe disease stages (H&Y 3-5).…”

Deep Learning Paradigm for Cardiovascular Disease/Stroke Risk Stratification in Parkinson’s Disease Affected by COVID-19: A Narrative Review

“…Patients with PD commonly experience the symptoms and signs of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and uncontrollable movements [ 89 , 90 , 91 ]. All of the pathological variables that contribute to the development of clinical complexity in PD include inappropriate protein aggregation, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial damage, and genetic anomalies [ 92 , 93 ].…”