Erythrocyte aggregation as an early biomarker in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis

摘要

Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease.Design: We have evaluated the degree of erythrocyte aggregation (EA) as a microinflammatory biomarker in a cohort ofhospital-based, neurologically asymptomatic outpatients.Methods: The degree of EA and carotid artery stenosis was evaluated in 510 individuals by using a simple slide test and imageanalysis.Results: Four hundred and sixteen individuals had minimal carotid stenosis (< 30%); 47 had mild to moderate stenosis (30-69%)and 47 had severe stenosis (> 70%). A significant correlation was noted between the degree of carotid stenosis and the erythrocytesedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cell count (WBCC) and fibrinogen (r = 0.160, p = 0.005; r = 0.191, p = 0.001 andr = 0.126, p = 0.026, respectively). The significant correlation was noted between the degree of carotid stenosis and EA (r =0.209, p < 0.001). The subjects with severe stenosis differed significantly from the other groups in their ESR, WBCC and EA.High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations did not discriminate between the presence and absence of significantcarotid atherosclerotic disease.Conclusions: Inflammatory biomarkers such as ESR and the EA test are more sensitive than hs-CRP to the presence of asignificant atherosclerotic carotid burden. These biomarkers might aid in the detection and quantification of microinflammationin individuals with carotid atherosclerosis.