Schulter Günter, Leber Klaus, Kronawetter Elke, Rübenbauer Viktoria R, Konstantiniuk Peter, Papousek Ilona
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, Karl-Franzens-University, Universitätsplatz 2/III, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University, Auenbruggerplatz 2, 8036 Graz, Austria.
Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:301631. doi: 10.1155/2014/301631. Epub 2014 May 22.
Recent studies demonstrated pigmented cells both in the murine heart, in pulmonary veins, and in brain arteries. Moreover, a role for melanocytes in the downregulation of inflammatory processes was suggested. As there is increasing evidence that inflammation is contributing significantly to the pathogenesis of intracranial aneurysms, melanocyte-like cells may be relevant in preventing age-related impairment of vessels. As pigmentation of the heart reflects that of coat color, aspects of body pigmentation might be associated with the incidence of intracranial aneurysms. We performed a case-control study to evaluate associations between the pigmentation of hair and eyes and the formation of aneurysms. In addition to hair and eye color, constitutive and facultative skin pigmentation were assessed in a replication study as well as individual handedness which can be seen as a neurophysiological correlate of developmental pigmentation processes. Hair pigmentation was highly associated with intracranial aneurysms in both samples, whereas eye pigmentation was not. In the replication cohort, facultative but not constitutive skin pigmentation proved significant. The strongest association was observed for individual handedness. Results indicate a significant association of intracranial aneurysms with particular aspects of body pigmentation as well as handedness, and imply clinical usefulness for screening of aneurysms and possible interventions.
最近的研究表明，在小鼠心脏、肺静脉和脑动脉中均存在色素细胞。此外，有研究提出黑素细胞在炎症过程的下调中发挥作用。鉴于越来越多的证据表明炎症在颅内动脉瘤的发病机制中起重要作用，类黑素细胞可能与预防血管的年龄相关损伤有关。由于心脏的色素沉着反映了皮毛颜色，身体色素沉着的某些方面可能与颅内动脉瘤的发病率有关。我们进行了一项病例对照研究，以评估头发和眼睛的色素沉着与动脉瘤形成之间的关联。除了头发和眼睛颜色外，在一项重复研究中还评估了先天性和后天性皮肤色素沉着，以及可被视为发育性色素沉着过程神经生理学相关因素的个体用手习惯。在两个样本中，头发色素沉着均与颅内动脉瘤高度相关，而眼睛色素沉着则不然。在重复队列中，后天性而非先天性皮肤色素沉着被证明具有显著性。个体用手习惯的关联性最强。结果表明颅内动脉瘤与身体色素沉着的特定方面以及用手习惯之间存在显著关联，并暗示了对动脉瘤筛查和可能干预措施的临床实用性。
