AIM:To ascertain whether carotid lesions are more prevalent in outpatients with incidental findings of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at abdominal ultrasound (US).METHODS: One hundred and fifty-four consecut...AIM:To ascertain whether carotid lesions are more prevalent in outpatients with incidental findings of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at abdominal ultrasound (US).METHODS: One hundred and fifty-four consecutive outpatients (age range 24-90 years, both sexes) referred by general practitioners for abdominal US, and drinking less than 20 g alcohol/day, underwent carotid US for an assessment of carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) and carotid plaque prevalence. Hepatic steatosis, visceral fat thickness and subcutaneous fat thickness were also assessed at ultrasonography.RESULTS: Higher c-IMT values were found in the presence of NAFLD (90 patients), even after adjustment for indices of general and abdominal obesity and for the principal cardiovascular risk factors (0.84±0.10 mm vs 0.71±0.10 mm, P<0.001). The prevalence of carotid plaques was 57.8% in the patients with NAFLD vs 37.5% in the patients without this condition (P=0.02). The adjusted relative risk of having carotid plaques for patients with NAFLD was 1.85 (95% CI:1.33-2.57, P<0.001).CONCLUSION: An incidental finding of hepatic steatosis may suggest the presence of silent carotid atherosclerotic lesions.展开更多
Celiac disease(CD) is frequently associated with neurological disorders,but very few reports concern the association with ischemic stroke.A 26-year-old woman affected by CD with secondary amenorrhea,carrier of a homoz...Celiac disease(CD) is frequently associated with neurological disorders,but very few reports concern the association with ischemic stroke.A 26-year-old woman affected by CD with secondary amenorrhea,carrier of a homozygous 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation with hyperhomocysteinemia,was affected by two occipital ischemic strokes within a period of 5 mo.At the time of the second stroke,while she was being treated with folic acid,acetylsalicylic acid and a gluten-free diet,she had left hemianopsia,left hemiparesthesias,and gait imbalance.Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a subacute right occipital ischemic lesion,which was extended to the dorsal region of the right thalamus and the ipsilateral thalamocapsular junction.Antitransglutaminase and deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies were no longer present,while antinuclear antibodies,antineuronal antibodies and immune circulating complexes were only slightly elevated.Since the patient was taking folic acid,her homocysteine levels were almost normal and apparently not sufficient alone to explain the clinical event.A conventional cerebral angiography showed no signs of vasculitis.Finally,rare causes of occipital stroke in young patients,such as Fabry's disease and mitochondrial myopathy,encephalomyopathy,lactic acidosis and stroke-like symptoms,were also excluded by appropriate tests.Thus,the most probable cause for the recurrent strokes in this young woman remained CD,although the mechanisms involved are still unknown.The two main hypotheses concern malabsorption(with consequent deficiency of vitamins known to exert neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects) and immunemediated mechanisms.CD should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of ischemic stroke in young patients.展开更多
基金Supported by (in part) A grant from Gruppo Italiano di Ultrasonologia in Medicina Interna (GIUMI)
文摘AIM:To ascertain whether carotid lesions are more prevalent in outpatients with incidental findings of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at abdominal ultrasound (US).METHODS: One hundred and fifty-four consecutive outpatients (age range 24-90 years, both sexes) referred by general practitioners for abdominal US, and drinking less than 20 g alcohol/day, underwent carotid US for an assessment of carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) and carotid plaque prevalence. Hepatic steatosis, visceral fat thickness and subcutaneous fat thickness were also assessed at ultrasonography.RESULTS: Higher c-IMT values were found in the presence of NAFLD (90 patients), even after adjustment for indices of general and abdominal obesity and for the principal cardiovascular risk factors (0.84±0.10 mm vs 0.71±0.10 mm, P<0.001). The prevalence of carotid plaques was 57.8% in the patients with NAFLD vs 37.5% in the patients without this condition (P=0.02). The adjusted relative risk of having carotid plaques for patients with NAFLD was 1.85 (95% CI:1.33-2.57, P<0.001).CONCLUSION: An incidental finding of hepatic steatosis may suggest the presence of silent carotid atherosclerotic lesions.
文摘Celiac disease(CD) is frequently associated with neurological disorders,but very few reports concern the association with ischemic stroke.A 26-year-old woman affected by CD with secondary amenorrhea,carrier of a homozygous 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation with hyperhomocysteinemia,was affected by two occipital ischemic strokes within a period of 5 mo.At the time of the second stroke,while she was being treated with folic acid,acetylsalicylic acid and a gluten-free diet,she had left hemianopsia,left hemiparesthesias,and gait imbalance.Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a subacute right occipital ischemic lesion,which was extended to the dorsal region of the right thalamus and the ipsilateral thalamocapsular junction.Antitransglutaminase and deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies were no longer present,while antinuclear antibodies,antineuronal antibodies and immune circulating complexes were only slightly elevated.Since the patient was taking folic acid,her homocysteine levels were almost normal and apparently not sufficient alone to explain the clinical event.A conventional cerebral angiography showed no signs of vasculitis.Finally,rare causes of occipital stroke in young patients,such as Fabry's disease and mitochondrial myopathy,encephalomyopathy,lactic acidosis and stroke-like symptoms,were also excluded by appropriate tests.Thus,the most probable cause for the recurrent strokes in this young woman remained CD,although the mechanisms involved are still unknown.The two main hypotheses concern malabsorption(with consequent deficiency of vitamins known to exert neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects) and immunemediated mechanisms.CD should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of ischemic stroke in young patients.
