PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ding, Lingling
AU  - Hong, Yuehui
AU  - Peng, Bin
TI  - Association between large artery atherosclerosis and cerebral microbleeds: a systematic review and meta-analysis
AID  - 10.1136/svn-2016-000049
DP  - 2017 Mar 01
TA  - Stroke and Vascular Neurology
PG  - 7--14
VI  - 2
IP  - 1
4099  - http://svn.bmj.com/content/2/1/7.short
4100  - http://svn.bmj.com/content/2/1/7.full
AB  - Objective The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide evidence that biomarkers of large artery atherosclerosis, including arterial stenosis and greater carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), may serve as clinical markers of subclinical haemorrhage-prone cerebral small vessel disease, reflected by cerebral microbleeds (CMBs).Methods We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies published before 1 July 2016. The association between arterial stenosis and CMBs was estimated by the OR and 95% CI. The association of cIMT and CMBs was calculated using the standardised mean difference (SMD). Heterogeneity and publication bias were explored.Results 8 studies including a total of 7160 participants were pooled in the meta-analysis. 6 of the included studies were cross-sectional, except that 2 were prospective. We found a significant association between arterial stenosis >50% and the presence of CMBs (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.36, I2=56.1%). A fixed-effects model suggested that patients with CMBs were more likely to have a greater cIMT (SMD 0.20, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.28, I2=24.7%).Conclusions This systematic review and meta-analysis found that there is a relationship between large artery atherosclerosis and CMBs. Future studies are needed to confirm the impact of atherosclerosis on the CMBs, which may have potential therapeutic implications.