Objective To analyze the effects of atorvastatin calcium at varying doses on the neovascularization grading in carotid plaques and its correlation with the inflammatory level by the superb microvascular imaging(SMI).Methods A total of 240 patients with carotid plaques detected by ultrasound who had neovascularization examined by SMI from January 2017 to December 2019 were included.They were assigned into atorvastatin calcium(AT)20mg/d group(n=120)and AT 40mg/d group(n=120)according to the odd-even case number.AT treatment lasted for 3 months.Peripheral blood was collected in the morning before and after 3 months of treatment.Changes in peripheral blood routine indicators,inflammatory factors and neovascularization grading in carotid plaques were analyzed in the two groups before and after treatment.Results End-points or serious adverse events were not reported in both groups during the study period.After 3 months of treatment,the neovascularization grade in carotid plaques was significantly reduced in both groups,which was significantly pronounced in the AT 40mg/d group than the AT 20mg/d group(P＜0.01).There were significantly changes in the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C)and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol(HDL-C)levels before and after low-dose AT treatment(P＜0.05),and there were significant differences in the monocyte cell count(MONO),apolipoprotein E(ApoE),LDL-C and HDL-C levels before and after high-dose AT treatment(P＜0.05).An extremely significant difference in the monocytes-to-HDL-C ratio(MHR)was detected in both groups before and after treatment(P＜0.01),and the MHR threshold was significantly lower in the AT 40mg/d group than the AT 20mg/d group(P＜0.01).The neovascularization grade in carotid plaques was positively correlated with MHR.MHR level was significantly different between grade 0 versus Ⅰ,and between grade Ⅱ versus Ⅲ neovascularization after high-dose AT treatment(P＜0.05).Further flow cytometry data showed that high-dose AT treatment could effectively inhibit the proliferation of MONO in the peripheral blood of patients with carotid plaques(P＜0.05).In addition,serum inflammatory factors,such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP),interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α)in all patients were significantly reduced than those before treatment(P＜0.05),which were significantly lower in the AT 40mg/d group than the AT 20mg/d group(P＜0.05).Conclusion AT improves the neovascularization grade in carotid plaques and reduces inflammation in the body,and the clinical effect of 40mg/d AT is much more obvious.
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
