Carotid Artery Disease in the Era of Biomarkers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The intima-media thickness (IMT) and its irregularities or ulcerations in the common carotid artery (CCA) are useful tools as sentinel biomarkers for the integrity of the cardiovascular system. Total homocysteine and lipoprotein levels are the most commonly used elements in cardiovascular risk stratification. Duplex ultrasound (DUS), associated with serum biomarkers, can be used simply to assess the degree of atherosclerotic disease and cardiovascular risk. This study highlights the role of different kinds of biomarkers, showing their usefulness and potentiality in multi-district atherosclerotic patients, especially for early diagnosis and therapy effectiveness monitoring. A retrospective analysis performed from September 2021 to August 2022, of patients with carotid artery disease, was performed. A total of 341 patients with a mean age of 53.8 years were included in the study. The outcomes showed an increased risk of stroke in patients with significative carotid artery disease, nonresponsive to therapy, monitored through a series of serum biomarkers (homocysteine, C-reactive protein, and oxidized LDL). In this reported experience, the systematic use of DUS in association with the multiple biomarkers approach was effective for the early identification of patients at higher risk of disease progression or inefficient therapy.

Fractional‐order poromechanics for a fully saturated biological tissue: Biomechanics of meniscus

“…The presence of biological tissues with a marked presence of hydrated collagen, as in meniscus tissue, makes, however, largely ineffective the elastic models of the material since a marked‐time dependent behavior of the representative volume element is observed also in absence of fluid‐filling material pores 13,16,27–34 . As a consequence a mathematical formulation that can be used to represent this mechanical behavior is the linear theory of material hereditariness that is nowadays described by the so‐called Fractional‐Order hereditariness (FOH).…”

“…The presence of biological tissues with a marked presence of hydrated collagen, as in meniscus tissue, makes, however, largely ineffective the elastic models of the material since a marked-time dependent behavior of the representative volume element is observed also in absence of fluid-filling material pores. 13,16,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] As a consequence a mathematical formulation that can be used to represent this mechanical behavior is the linear theory of material hereditariness that is nowadays described by the so-called Fractional-Order hereditariness (FOH). In this setting the formalism of fractional-calculus, lately used in several biomechanical contexts 18,21,25,26 allows to replace the well-known constitutive equations of classical linear elasticity with their-fractional-order counterparts, involving, as additional parameters the derivation order β 0, 1 ½ .…”