Hemodynamic relationship between intracranial aneurysm and carotid stenosis: Review of clinical cases and numerical analyses

Liang Der Jou, Hashem M. Shaltoni, Hesham Morsi, Michel E. Mawad

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Coexistence of both an intracranial aneurysm and a stenosis at the same internal carotid artery is infrequent, but it may complicate therapeutic management of either disease. It is unclear if a stenosis plays any role in development of intracranial aneurysms. We study patients with intracranial aneurysms at our hospital and investigate if there is a relationship between a carotid stenosis and an intracranial aneurysm. Methods: Two hundred and nine patients who were treated for their intracranial aneurysms in a 2-year period were reviewed. Fifty-four patients were found to have at least one intracranial aneurysm and one intracranial or extracranial carotid stenosis. Ten of them had bilateral stenoses; 17 aneurysms were on the ipsilateral side of the stenosis, and eight on the contralateral side. Nineteen aneurysms were elsewhere. Two cases were selected for detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses: one with an intracranial and the other with an extracranial stenosis. Results: Aneurysms on the contralateral side of a carotid stenosis are significantly larger than those aneurysms on the ipsilateral side or with bilateral stenoses (13.6 versus 6.6 mm; P < 0.01). CFD studies show that wall shear stress at the aneurysm is more likely affected by an adjacent intracranial stenosis than by an extracranial stenosis. Conclusions: Intracranial carotid aneurysms contralateral to a carotid stenosis are significantly larger than aneurysms with a carotid stenosis elsewhere. Rupture can occur on aneurysms with an extracranial carotid stenosis on the contralateral side or with an intracranial carotid stenosis on the ipsilateral side.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1083-1089
Number of pages7
JournalNeurological Research
Volume32
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Carotid stenosis
  • Cerebral aneurysms
  • Hemodynamics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

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