Intracranial artery calcification in hemodialysis patients

Intracranial artery calcification is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke, and while it is frequently observed on computed tomographic images of the brain in hemodialysis patients, its distribution has not been well studied. Fifty patients on maintenance hemodialysis were enrolled in this study. We divided the patients with intracranial artery calcification into two groups according to the duration of maintenance hemodialysis and compared the frequency of intracranial calcification of each of the intracranial arteries between the two groups. Intracranial artery calcification was found in 36 of the 50 hemodialysis patients. Among the 36 patients with intracranial artery calcification, the prevalence of calcification of each of the arteries was as follows: vertebral artery, 58.3%; internal carotid artery, 61.1%; basilar artery, 41.7%; anterior cerebral artery, 16.7%; middle cerebral artery, 30.6%; posterior cerebral artery, 8.3%. The prevalence of calcification of each of the intracranial arteries did not differ significantly between the patients with a hemodialysis duration of more than 20 years and those less than 20 years. The most frequently involved site of calcification was the internal carotid artery. The prevalence of calcification of the other intracranial arteries, particularly of the basilar artery, were relatively high. The prevalence of calcification of each of the intracranial arteries did not differ significantly between the patients with a hemodialysis duration of more than 20 years and less than 20 years.