Abstract 2716: Patients with Leukoaraiosis Have Poor Recruitment of Collaterals After Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have shown reduced penumbral salvage in ischemic stroke patients with higher leukoaraisosis (LA) volume. Although unproven, decreased cerebral vessel density and diminished capacity of cerebral vessels to dilate in response to reduced blood flow in severe LA, are considered among the factors that might explain the association between LA burden and infarct growth in ischemic stroke. Both of these factors, in theory, might negatively affect the extent of collateral blood flow, an important predictor of tissue and clinical outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. In this study, we therefore analyzed whether extent of LA adversely affected the degree of collateral circulation in a cohort of patients presenting with middle cerebral artery occlusion. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a consecutive series of patients admitted with a diagnosis of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Computed tomography angiography source images (CTA-SI) were used to assess the degree of collateral circulation, based on a previously validated scoring system which grades collateral vessels in the sylvian fissure and leptomeningeal convexity separately on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the worst and 5 the best. The extent of LA was determined on FLAIR images by using the Fazekas scale. Multivariate analysis was used to explore the relationship between extent of LA and degree of collateral circulation, adjusted for other covariates like age, gender, vascular risk factors and time from symptom onset to CTA imaging. Results: A total of 51 patients (31 female, 20 male) were included into the study. LA severity was significantly and negatively correlated with the degree of collateral supply (r=-0.31, p=0.03). LA severity (OR 5.9, 95%CI 1.5-24.0) and history of prior stroke (OR 7.8, 95%CI 1.0-59.3) were the only significant variables associated with insufficient collaterals (defined as a combined sylvian and lepotmeningeal collateral score of 5 or less) in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Patients with higher LA burden have a poor recruitment of collateral vessels after middle cerebral artery occlusion. This association might contribute to reduced penumbral salvage and increased susceptibility to infarct growth observed in patients with severe LA.