Claudication due to adventitial cystic degeneration: A differential diagnosis of peripheral artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Cystic adventitial disease (CAD) is an important and rare non-atherosclerotic cause of intermittent claudication and critical limb ischemia. Since the first case of CAD involving the external iliac artery was described by Atkins and Key in 1947, approximately 300 additional cases have been reported. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article is to report a rare vascular disorder, predominantly seen in young healthy men with minimal cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: We report a rare case of cystic adventitial disease of a young policeman. To confirm the diagnosis, an ultrasonography and a conventional angiography were performed. The therapeutic approach was surgical first. RESULTS: The procedure was successful without any complication, and the patient was discharged to home 4 days after procedure. CONCLUSION: While CAD is rare, the diagnosis should be suspected in a young patient who presents with arterial insufficiency and no risk factors for atherosclerosis. Catheter angiography is the investigation of choice in the absence of multislice CT and good MRA. It seems that the treatment that assures the best long-term results is reconstructive arterial bypass surgery.

A Deep Learning-based Method to Extract Lumen and Media-Adventitia in Intravascular Ultrasound Images.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging allows direct visualization of the coronary vessel wall and is suitable for assessing atherosclerosis and the degree of stenosis. Accurate segmentation and lumen and median-adventitia (MA) measurements from IVUS are essential for such a successful clinical evaluation. However, current automated segmentation by commercial software relies on manual corrections, which is time-consuming and user-dependent. We aim to develop a deep learning-based method using an encoder-decoder deep architecture to automatically and accurately extract both lumen and MA border. Inspired by the dual-path design of the state-of-the-art model IVUS-Net, our method named IVUS-U-Net++ achieved an extension of the U-Net++ model. More specifically, a feature pyramid network was added to the U-Net++ model, enabling the utilization of feature maps at different scales. Following the segmentation, the Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses were performed to evaluate the correlations of 12 clinical parameters measured from our segmentation results and the ground truth. A dataset with 1746 IVUS images from 18 patients was used for training and testing. Our segmentation model at the patient level achieved a Jaccard measure (JM) of 0.9080 ± 0.0321 and a Hausdorff distance (HD) of 0.1484 ± 0.1584 mm for the lumen border; it achieved a JM of 0.9199 ± 0.0370 and an HD of 0.1781 ± 0.1906 mm for the MA border. The 12 clinical parameters measured from our segmentation results agreed well with those from the ground truth (all p-values are smaller than .01). Our proposed method shows great promise for its clinical use in IVUS segmentation.

Venous Adventitial Cyst Mimicking a Persistent Femoral Deep Venous Thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: We describe the case of lower limb unilateral swelling due to a cystic mass (adventitial cystic disease) compressing on the common femoral vein. This was misdiagnosed as a deep vein thrombosis on both computed tomography venography and Doppler ultrasound. METHOD: We describe the diagnostic pathways and surgical excision of this venous adventitial cyst of the femoral vein. CONCLUSION: Venous adventitial cysts are a rare occurrence and diagnosis remains difficult. It often presents clinically as a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Suspicions should be raised should symptoms persist despite appropriate DVT management. Surgical management include endovascular, minimally invasive procedures, and complete evacuation of the mucoid cyst with excision of the cystic wall.

Effectiveness of Surgical Treatment with Complete Cyst Excision for Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Popliteal Artery.

BACKGROUND: Cystic adventitial disease is a rare, nonatherosclerotic disease that affects various arteries and veins, involving the formation of a mucinous cyst within the adventitia. The etiology of the cystic adventitial disease is currently unclear, with several hypotheses having been suggested. The purpose of this retrospective observational study was to evaluate the etiology of popliteal cystic adventitial disease based on imaging and surgical findings and to evaluate the efficacy of surgical treatment. METHODS: From April 2013 to January 2020, nine patients were diagnosed with the popliteal cystic adventitial disease and underwent surgical treatment. We performed complete resection of the cyst and the affected segment of the popliteal artery, followed by interposition with autologous reversed small saphenous vein or great saphenous vein. RESULTS: The resected adventitial cyst tissue was multilobular, filled with high-viscosity mucus. Pathologic examination of the surgical specimen revealed intramural cysts filled with gelatinous material located between the media and the adventitia, consistent with the clinical diagnosis of cystic adventitial disease. The median follow-up period was 27.5 months (range: 2-91 months). All patients underwent cyst excision with graft interposition, and the overall graft patency was 80.9 months (95% CI: 62.2-99.6 months). CONCLUSIONS: Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and surgical findings confirmed communication between the synovial cyst and arterial adventitia. It is recommended that priority be given to surgical resection and graft interposition because this can eliminate the disease's cause and reduce its recurrence.

Atherosclerotic Coronary Plaque Is Associated With Adventitial Vasa Vasorum and Local Inflammation in Adjacent Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Fresh Cadavers.

BACKGROUND: The coronary adventitia has recently attracted attention as a source of inflammation because it harbors nutrient blood vessels, termed the vasa vasorum (VV). This study assessed the link between local inflammation in adjacent epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and coronary arterial atherosclerosis in fresh cadavers.Methods and Results:Lesion characteristics in the left anterior descending coronary artery of 10 fresh cadaveric hearts were evaluated using integrated backscatter intravascular ultrasound (IB-IVUS), and the density of the VV and levels of inflammatory molecules from the adjacent EAT were measured for each of the assessed lesions. The lesions were divided into lipid-rich, lipid-moderate, and lipid-poor groups according to percentage lipid volume assessed by IB-IVUS. Higher expression of inflammatory molecules (i.e., vascular endothelial growth factor A [VEGFA] andVEGFB) was observed in adjacent EAT of lipid-rich (n=11) than in lipid-poor (n=11) lesions (7.99±3.37 vs. 0.45±0.85 arbitrary units [AU], respectively, forVEGFA; 0.27±0.15 vs. 0.11±0.07 AU, respectively, forVEGFB; P<0.05). The density of adventitial VV was greater in lipid-rich than lipid-poor lesions (1.50±0.58% vs. 0.88±0.23%; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lipid-rich coronary plaques are associated with adventitial VV and local inflammation in adjacent EAT in fresh cadavers. This study suggests that local inflammation of EAT is associated with coronary plaque progression via the VV.

Spontaneous Regression of Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Popliteal Artery: A Case Report.

Spontaneous regression of cystic adventitial disease (CAD) of the popliteal artery is rare. In this report, we describe a 53-year-old woman who presented with left calf pain and was diagnosed with CAD with popliteal artery stenosis, which regressed without therapy. The disease was diagnosed via computed tomography, and a surgical intervention was planned at the time of diagnosis. However, her symptoms disappeared 2 months after the initial presentation. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed spontaneous regression of the cystic lesions and resolution of the popliteal artery stenosis. During the 29-month follow-up period, her symptoms did not recur. Although CAD often requires surgical intervention, it may be acceptable to carefully observe patients with spontaneous regression for some time to check for recurrence.

Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Popliteal Artery: Radical Surgical Treatment After Several Failed Approaches. A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Adventitial cystic disease is a rare nonatheromatous cause of popliteal artery disease. We report the case of a 49-year-old male patient who presented with left calf claudication caused by adventitial cystic disease. Popliteal artery resection followed by autologous vein graft interposition and Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (PTA) stenting led to recurrence. The patient was finally successfully treated by bypass with autologous vein. No postoperative complications occurred, and patency was preserved at 33-month follow-up. Several different treatment options are possible; however, a primary radical surgical treatment with extra-anatomical medial bypass with autologous vein seems preferable.

Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Common Femoral Vein Successfully Treated with Resection, Synthetic Graft Reconstruction, and Fistula Creation.

Cystic adventitial disease (CAD) is a rare, benign disease of blood vessels which most commonly affects the popliteal artery. Less than 50 cases of CAD affecting veins have ever been described in the literature to date. We report the case of a 56-year-old woman who presented with unilateral lower extremity swelling and varicosities due to CAD of her common femoral vein. Resection and reconstruction with a venous interposition graft, employing a polytetrafluoroethylene graft and arteriovenous fistula in order to maintain venous bypass patency, were performed successfully. The patient recovered well without any evidence of recurrence or postoperative complications.

Two Cases of Popliteal Cystic Adventitial Disease Treated with Primary Stenting: Long-Term Results.

The cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery is an uncommon cause of intermittent claudication in young patients. Several treatment options are available, oriented to either drainage of the cyst and/or arterial reconstruction. Endovascular techniques have been exceptionally used to treat this condition, with mixed results. We report 2 young claudicants treated with primary stenting with continuous 4- and 10-year symptomatic relief and arterial patency.

Treatment Options for Venous Cystic Adventitial Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Venous cystic adventitial disease (CAD) is an uncommon vascular anomaly that most frequently affects the common femoral vein. Transluminal or transadventitial evacuation followed by cyst excision is considered an effective treatment for this condition, although the recurrence rate is relatively high. Herein, we report a case of a 59-year-old man with venous CAD that was successfully treated with saphenous vein patch angioplasty after mucoid evacuation and cyst excision, and we discuss the options for treating venous CAD.

Cystic adventitial disease of the common femoral vein: A case report.

OBJECTIVES: Cystic adventitial disease is an extremely rare vascular disorder and is often misdiagnosed. In order to improve the knowledge and treatment of this disease, a case of venous cystic adventitial disease was reported. METHODS: The whole processes about the diagnosis and treatment of one patient with venous cystic adventitial disease was retrospectively studied. RESULTS: This case of venous cystic adventitial disease was diagnosed accurately by contrast-enhanced computed tomography and treated successfully by surgical resection. No complications were detected after one-year post-operative follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection is a safe and effective method for the treatment of venous CAD.

Detecting the Media-adventitia Border in Intravascular Ultrasound Images through a Classification-based Approach.

The detection of the media-adventitia (MA) border in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images is essential for vessel assessment and disease diagnosis. However, it remains a challenging task, considering the existence of plaque, calcification, and various artifacts. In this article, an effective method based on classification is proposed to extract the MA border in IVUS images. First, a novel morphologic feature describing the relative position of each structure relative to the MA border, called RPES for short, is proposed. Then, the RPES feature and other features are employed in a multiclass extreme learning machine (ELM) to classify IVUS images into nine classes including the MA border and other structures. At last, a modified snake model is employed to effectively detect the MA border in the rectangular domain, in which a modified external force field is constructed on the basis of local border appearances and classification results. The proposed method is evaluated on a public dataset with 77 IVUS images by three indicators in eight situations, such as calcification and a guide wire artifact. With the proposed RPES feature, detection performances are improved by more than 39 percent, which shows an apparent advantage in comparative experiments. Furthermore, compared with two other existing methods used on the same dataset, the proposed method achieves 18 of the best indicators among 24, demonstrating its higher capability in detecting the MA border.

Adventitial cysts of the radial artery are joint connected.

Volar radial wrist masses are common. Adventitial cysts of the radial artery are rarely reported and poorly understood. We describe a case series of adventitial cysts in association with the radial artery and detail their pathophysiology and treatment. We conducted an Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective review of patients treated at our institution from 1997 to 2018. Twelve patients were identified. Presenting symptoms typically included pain and swelling over the volar radial wrist. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated tubular, cystic lesions within the adventitia of the radial artery with connections to the wrist joint confirmed on multiplanar imaging: (radiocarpal joint = 10; scaphotrapeziotrapezoidal joint = 1; and intercarpal joint = 1). Seven patients underwent operation, at which time the cyst was resected and the articular branch disconnected. These patients reported resolution of their symptoms without clinical recurrence. The consistent finding of a joint connection in these cases of adventitial cysts associated with the radial artery has important clinical implications. The joint connection needs to be disconnected. Level of evidence: Level IV, case series. Clin. Anat. 32:201-205, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Subadventitial techniques for chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention: The concept of "vessel architecture".

Despite improvements in guidewire technologies, the traditional antegrade wire escalation approach to chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization is successful in only 60-80% of selected cases. In particular, long, calcified, and tortuous occlusions are less successfully approached with a true-to-true lumen approach. Frequently, the guidewire tracks into the subadventitial space, with no guarantee of distal re-entry into the true lumen. The ability to manage the subadventitial space has been a key step in the tremendous improvement in success rates of contemporary CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), whether operating antegradely or retrogradely. A modern approach to CTO PCI involves understanding the concept of "vessel architecture," which is based on the distinction between coronary structures (occlusive plaque, comprising the disrupted intima and media, and the outer adventitia) and extravascular space. The vessel architecture represents a safe work environment for guidewire and device manipulation. This review provides an anatomy-based description of the concept of vessel architecture, along with a historical perspective of subadventitial techniques for CTO PCI, and outcome data of CTO PCI utilizing the subadventitial space. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adventitial Cystic Disease: Complicated and Uncomplicated.

Three cases of adventitial cystic disease of popliteal artery are reported; 1 complicated with associated thrombosis of the popliteal artery and 2 uncomplicated. Operative management and follow-up are described.

A multi-institutional experience in adventitial cystic disease.

BACKGROUND: Adventitial cystic disease (ACD) is an unusual arteriopathy; case reports and small series constitute the available literature regarding treatment. We sought to examine the presentation, contemporary management, and long-term outcomes using a multi-institutional database. METHODS: Using a standardized database, 14 institutions retrospectively collected demographics, comorbidities, presentation/symptoms, imaging, treatment, and follow-up data on consecutive patients treated for ACD during a 10-year period, using Society for Vascular Surgery reporting standards for limb ischemia. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed comparing treatment methods and factors associated with recurrent intervention. Life-table analysis was performed to estimate the freedom from reintervention in comparing the various treatment modalities. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients (32 men, 15 women; mean age, 43 years) were identified with ACD involving the popliteal artery (n = 41), radial artery (n = 3), superficial/common femoral artery (n = 2), and common femoral vein (n = 1). Lower extremity claudication was seen in 93% of ACD of the leg arteries, whereas patients with upper extremity ACD had hand or arm pain. Preoperative diagnosis was made in 88% of patients, primarily using cross-sectional imaging of the lower extremity; mean lower extremity ankle-brachial index was 0.71 in the affected limb. Forty-one patients with lower extremity ACD underwent operative repair (resection with interposition graft, 21 patients; cyst resection, 13 patients; cyst resection with bypass graft, 5 patients; cyst resection with patch, 2 patients). Two patients with upper extremity ACD underwent cyst drainage without resection or arterial reconstruction. Complications, including graft infection, thrombosis, hematoma, and wound dehiscence, occurred in 12% of patients. Mean lower extremity ankle-brachial index at 3 months postoperatively improved to 1.07 (P < .001), with an overall mean follow-up of 20 months (range, 0.33-9 years). Eight patients (18%) with lower extremity arterial ACD required reintervention (redo cyst resection, one; thrombectomy, three; redo bypass, one; balloon angioplasty, three) after a mean of 70 days with symptom relief in 88%. Lower extremity patients who underwent cyst resection and interposition or bypass graft were less likely to require reintervention (P = .04). One patient with lower extremity ACD required an above-knee amputation for extensive tissue loss. CONCLUSIONS: This multi-institutional, contemporary experience of ACD examines the treatment and outcomes of ACD. The majority of patients can be identified preoperatively; surgical repair, consisting of cyst excision with arterial reconstruction or bypass alone, provides the best long-term symptomatic relief and reduced need for intervention to maintain patency.

Adventitial CXCL1/G-CSF expression in response to acute aortic dissection triggers local neutrophil recruitment and activation leading to aortic rupture.

RATIONALE: In-hospital outcomes are generally acceptable in patients with type B dissection; however, some patients present with undesirable complications, such as aortic expansion and rupture. Excessive inflammation is an independent predictor of adverse clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We have investigated the underlying mechanisms of catastrophic complications after acute aortic dissection (AAD) in mice. METHODS AND RESULTS: When angiotensin II was administered in lysyl oxidase inhibitor-preconditioned mice, AAD emerged within 24 hours. The dissection was initiated at the proximal site of the descending thoracic aorta and propagated distally into an abdominal site. Dissection of the aorta caused dilatation, and ≈70% of the mice died of aortic rupture. AAD triggered CXCL1 and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor expression in the tunica adventitia of the dissected aorta, leading to elevation of circulating CXCL1/granulocyte-colony stimulating factor levels. Bone marrow CXCL12 was reduced. These chemokine changes facilitated neutrophil egress from bone marrow and infiltration into the aortic adventitia. Interference of CXCL1 function using an anti-CXCR2 antibody reduced neutrophil accumulation and limited aortic rupture post AAD. The tunica adventitia of the expanded dissected aorta demonstrated high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression. Neutrophils were the major sources of IL-6, and CXCR2 neutralization significantly reduced local and systemic levels of IL-6. Furthermore, disruption of IL-6 effectively suppressed dilatation and rupture of the dissected aorta without any influence on the incidence of AAD and neutrophil mobilization. CONCLUSIONS: Adventitial CXCL1/granulocyte-colony stimulating factor expression in response to AAD triggers local neutrophil recruitment and activation. This leads to adventitial inflammation via IL-6 and results in aortic expansion and rupture.

Improved Correlation of Strain Indices with Cognitive Dysfunction with Inclusion of Adventitial Layer with Carotid Plaque.

Plaque instability may lead to chronic embolization, which in turn may contribute to progressive cognitive decline. Accumulated strain tensor indices over a cardiac cycle within a pulsating carotid plaque may be viable biomarkers for the diagnosis of plaque instability. Using plaque-only carotid artery segmentations, we recently demonstrated that impaired cognitive function correlated significantly with maximum axial and lateral strain indices within a localized region of interest in plaque. Inclusion of the adventitial layer focuses our strain or instability measures on the vessel wall-plaque interface hypothesized to be a region with increased shearing forces and measureable instability. A hierarchical block-matching motion tracking algorithm developed in our laboratory was used to estimate accumulated axial, lateral, and shear strain distribution in plaques identified with the plaque-with-adventitia segmentation. Correlations of strain indices to the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Total score were performed and compared with previous results. Overall, correlation coefficients (r) and significance (p) values improved for axial, lateral, and shear strain indices. Shear strain indices, however, demonstrated the largest improvement. The Pearson correlation coefficients for maximum shear strain and cognition improved from the previous plaque-only analyses of -0.432 and -0.345 to -0.795 and -0.717 with the plaque-with-adventitia segmentation for the symptomatic group and for all patients combined, respectively. Our results demonstrate the advantage of including adventitia for ultrasound carotid strain imaging providing improved association to parameters assessing cognitive impairment in patients. This supports theories of the importance of the vessel wall plaque interface in the pathophysiology of embolic disease.

Left carotid adventitial vasa vasorum signal correlates directly with age and with left carotid intima-media thickness in individuals without atheromatous risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: The early identification of the onset of subclinical atheromatosis is essential in reducing the high mortality risk from cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide. Although carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is the most commonly used early predictor of ongoing atherosclerosis, an experimental model of atherosclerosis, demonstrated that increases in adventitial microvessels (vasa vasorum (VV)) precede endothelial dysfunction. Using the reported accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) to measure carotid adventitial VV, this study assessed whether measurements of carotid adventitial VV serve as a marker of subclinical atherosclerotic lesions in a control population with none of the classical risk factors for CVD. METHODS AND RESULTS: Measurements of cIMT (B-mode ultrasound) and adventitial VV (CEU) were conducted in 65 subjects, 30-70 years old, 48% men, with none of the classical risk factors for CVD. Adventitial VV strongly correlated with its own cIMT only in the left carotid artery. Importantly, the left carotid adventitial VV directly correlated with age. CONCLUSIONS: The increases with age in left carotid adventitial VV in individuals with zero risk for atheromatosis suggest that the measurement of carotid adventitial VV could be an accurate and sensitive marker for the diagnosis of subclinical atheromatosis and therefore a prominent tool for monitoring the efficacy of anti-atheromatous therapies.