Tortuosity of terminal arterioles in the basal ganglia is increased in status lacunaris.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the participation of small (diameter between 26 microns and 90 microns) and terminal (diameter between 10 microns and 25 microns) arterioles in the status lacunaris of the basal ganglia and to classify tortuous vascular profiles based on morphometry. Paraffin sections, 40 microns thick, of the basal ganglia from autopsied patients over the age of 45, were stained with PAS. A three-dimensional microscope, R400 (edge) was used to evaluate the structure of the blood vessels. Six patterns of the tortuous profiles were identified: simple kink, loop, knot, tangle, coil, and wave, and well as their combinations. Tortuous arterioles in the basal ganglia were present both in control group and status lacunaris cases. However, statistical Student's t-test analysis revealed a significant increment in the number of microfields containing tortuous terminal arterioles in the status lacunaris group (mean 7.50 +/- 4.62) versus the control group (mean 2.92 +/- 1.38) (p = 0.001). A risk for status lacunaris was associated with the increased frequency of tortuous terminal arterioles (Odd ratio = 1.94, 95%-Confidence Interval = 1.17-3.22) (p = 0.008) but not small arterioles (Odd ratio = 1.64, 95%-Confidence Interval = 0.62-4.38) (p = 0.39). Our findings suggest than an increased number of tortuous terminal arterioles is associated with status lacunaris. Six characteristic patterns of the tortuous profiles as well as their combinations were identified.