Investigating Macrovascular Wall Thickness of the Forearm in Systemic Sclerosis

Stel, Tobias (2022) Investigating Macrovascular Wall Thickness of the Forearm in Systemic Sclerosis. Master's Research Project 1, Biomedical Sciences.

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Abstract

The auto-immune inflammatory disease systemic sclerosis is still relatively unknown. Research concerning the macro vascular of the forearm is scarce. Investigating the vasculature of the forearm may give us better insight in the progression of the disease. The aim of this research was to look for possible abnormalities of the vessel wall in the brachial, ulnar, and radial arteries in systemic sclerosis patients. Forty-two patients and twelve healthy controls were studied with a median age of 62 and 58 respectively. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and lumen diameter were measured using ultra-high frequency ultrasound (48 MHz). A severity score index was formulated and applied to include unmeasurable ultra-sound pictures in the analysis. Results showed higher severity scores for stenosis or occlusion in the ulnar arteries compared to the other vessel (21,4% and 16,7% versus 2,4% for the right brachial and 0% for the radial arteries and left brachial). No significant differences were observed for the IMT. The SSc group has significant decreased lumen diameter for the radial and ulnar arteries ((p=0.042), (p=0.001), (p=0.001) and (p<0.001) respectively). This research has shown that defining the borders of the adventitia-media-intima is essential to get relevant and precise IMT scores. Moreover, this research project has given light to many opportunities for follow-up research. Increasing the list of study variables can clarify inconsistencies in the data. Investigating the relation

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Research Project 1)
Supervisor name:	Mulder, D.J. and Slijkhuis, B.G.C.
Degree programme:	Biomedical Sciences
Thesis type:	Master's Research Project 1
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2022 11:32
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2022 11:32
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/28915

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