Thore Clara R, Anstrom John A, Moody Dixon M, Challa Venkata R, Marion Miranda C, Brown William R
Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2007 May;66(5):337-45. doi: 10.1097/nen.0b013e3180537147.
Arteriolar tortuousities, consisting of vascular coils, loops, and spirals, appear in white matter in a subset of human cerebral vessels. Computerized morphometry was used to analyze brain sections from a broad age range of subjects to determine whether tortuosity is a phenomenon of aging or is associated with leukoaraiosis (LA) or Alzheimer disease (AD). Autopsy brains were studied from 55 subjects ranging in age from 23 weeks postconception to 102 years. Fourteen aged subjects were diagnosed with LA and 7 with AD. By using computerized morphometry, vascular curl (curvilinear length/straight length) was measured in white matter arterioles in 100-microm-thick, alkaline phosphatase-stained sections. Aging subjects, compared with young subjects, showed significant increases in both the prevalence and severity of tortuosity. Curl scores in aged subjects with LA or AD were not significantly different from aged controls without LA or AD. We conclude that 1) tortuous vessels are extremely rare in preterm babies, children, or young adults; 2) significant tortuosity, as indicated by elevated curl scores, begins in middle age; 3) tortuosity does not appear in a subset of aged individuals regardless of longevity; and 4) tortuosity does not appear in a subset of individuals with either LA or AD.
小动脉迂曲表现为血管盘绕、袢状和螺旋状，出现在一部分人脑白质血管中。采用计算机形态测量法分析了不同年龄受试者的脑切片，以确定迂曲是衰老现象，还是与脑白质疏松症（LA）或阿尔茨海默病（AD）相关。研究了55例受试者的尸检脑，年龄范围从孕23周后至102岁。14例老年受试者被诊断为LA，7例被诊断为AD。通过计算机形态测量法，在100微米厚、经碱性磷酸酶染色的切片中测量白质小动脉的血管卷曲度（曲线长度/直线长度）。与年轻受试者相比，老年受试者的迂曲发生率和严重程度均显著增加。患有LA或AD的老年受试者的卷曲度评分与未患LA或AD的老年对照无显著差异。我们得出以下结论：1）在早产儿、儿童或年轻成年人中，迂曲血管极为罕见；2）如卷曲度评分升高所示，显著迂曲始于中年；3）无论寿命长短，迂曲在一部分老年个体中并不出现；4）迂曲在患有LA或AD的一部分个体中也不出现。
