The Presence of Communicating Arteries in the Circle of Willis Is Associated with Higher Rate of Functional Recovery after Anterior Circulation Ischemic Stroke

Autor: Sara Sablić, Krešimir Dolić, Ivan Kraljević, Danijela Budimir Mršić, Mate Čičmir-Vestić, Benjamin Benzon, Sanja Lovrić Kojundžić, Maja Marinović Guić
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biomedicines, Vol 11, Iss 11, p 3008 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2227-9059
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11113008
Popis: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the world’s second leading cause of mortality. An established method for treating stroke patients in acute settings is endovascular therapy (EVT). However, the correlation of the successful endovascular treatment of AIS with the presence of communicating arteries in the circle of Willis needs to be proven. Our study examined clinical and radiological data of 158 consecutive patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) at our comprehensive stroke center. We analyzed their CT angiograms and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to assess anatomical variants of Willis’ circle and formed two groups—collateral-negative and collateral-positive group. The first group included patients with aplasia of both anterior (ACoA) and posterior communicating Artery (PCoA). The second group included patients that have at least one communicating artery (either anterior or posterior). We evaluated their reperfusion outcomes and functional recovery three months later. Our results showed that patients with communicating arteries had smaller areas of infarction on post-interventional CT and higher rates of functional recovery (Modified Rankin Score). The ACoA had a higher impact on early and late outcomes, confirmed by lower control CT scores and more favorable functional recovery. Therefore, anatomic variants of Willis’ circle should be considered as a significant prognostic factor in AIS.
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