Does the histological pathology of symptomatic carotid plaques differ based on the nature and timing of ischemic symptoms (TIA vs stroke)?
The underlying pathology of symptomatic carotid plaques may differ between TIA and stroke, with inflammation persisting longer after TIA.
Pathology of recently symptomatic carotid plaques is similar to that of culprit coronary plaques, with strong correlations between macrophage infiltration and plaque instability. The tendency for plaque inflammation and overall instability to persist with time after a TIA but to decrease with time after a stroke suggests that the nature of the underlying pathology may differ.
Redgrave et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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