Background Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence.Methods ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362.

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Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is an uncommon angiopathy that occurs mainly in young to middle-aged female individuals. It is an idiopathic, segmental, non-inflammatory and non-atherosclerotic vascular disease leading to stenosis of small- and medium-sized arteries. Clinical manifestations are determined by the artery involved, most commonly hypertension (renal artery) and stroke (carotid artery). When FMD affects multiple vascular beds, it may mimic a systemic vasculitis. Here, we present the case of a young female patient with FMD. The patient had a clinical history of bilateral internal carotid artery dissection that required surgical repair. Since a systemic vascular disease was suspected, abdominal angiography was done, showing evidence of a "string of beads" appearance involving the distal two-thirds of the right renal artery. This lesion is considered to be pathognomonic of the medial FMD that accounts for 70-95% of all cases of FMD. Two years later, a new magnetic resonance angiography confirmed the "string of beads" appearance of the middle to distal part of the right renal artery, with significant hemodynamic stenosis that was successfully dilated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

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