Arterial remodeling of basilar atherosclerosis in isolated pontine infarction

Isolated pontine infarctions are usually classified as paramedian pontine infarction (PPI) and lacunar pontine infarction (LPI). Although they have different shapes and locations, some recent studies proved that they might both be associated with basilar artery atherosclerosis in pathogenesis. This study aimed to explore the difference of basilar artery remodeling between two subtypes of pontine infarctions. Patients with PPI or LPI were scanned by High-resolution MRI (HR-MRI). The MR images of patients with basilar artery atherosclerosis were further analyzed to measure the vessel, lumen and wall areas at different segments of basilar arteries. Stenosis rate and remodeling index were calculated according to which arterial remodeling was divided into positive, intermediate and negative remodeling. Vascular risk factors and remodeling-related features were compared between PPI and LPI, and also between patients with and without positive remodeling. 34 patients with PPI and 21 patients with LPI had basilar artery atherosclerosis identified by HR-MRI. Positive remodeling was dominant in LPI group while in PPI group, three subtypes of remodeling were equal. Patients with positive remodeling had higher levels of low-density lipoprotein and homocysteine. Positive remodeling of basilar artery might reflect the low stability of basilar atherosclerotic plaques, which was more closely associated with LPI than PPI.