第三节 颈动脉瘤的病理生理学改变

1.病因、症状和诊断

颈动脉瘤是由于颈动脉壁病变或损伤而变薄,在血流压力作用下逐渐形成动脉壁局限性或弥漫性扩张或膨出的表现,以膨胀性、搏动性的颈部肿块为主要临床表现。颈动脉瘤可发生在颈总动脉、颈内动脉、颈外动脉及其分支,常见原因包括动脉硬化、创伤、细菌感染、梅毒或先天性动脉囊性中层坏死。50岁以上的老年人发生颈动脉瘤,通常由颈动脉粥样硬化所致,多发生在双侧颈动脉分叉处,常伴有高血压、冠心病等。

颈动脉瘤的主要症状表现为颈部肿块,有明显搏动及杂音,压迫肿块近心端动脉时,搏动减弱或消失,可作为诊断标准之一。数字减影血管造影(digital subtraction angiography,DSA)是通过电子计算机进行辅助成像的血管造影方法,对确定诊断具有重要意义。根据动脉瘤形成的原因不同,DSA显影也有不同表现:先天性动脉瘤,瘤体一般较小,自绿豆到黄豆大小,呈囊状,有蒂与动脉干连接;动脉硬化形成的动脉瘤可见到瘤动脉纤细弯曲,动脉腔变窄或粗细不均,瘤体呈梭形;外伤性动脉瘤为囊性或多房性构成。近年来应用磁共振血管显影(magnetic resonance angiography,MRA)诊断动脉瘤的价值受到重视。MRA是一种无创性检查方法,诊断颈动脉瘤较DSA更具优势。

发生在颈总动脉、颈内动脉的动脉瘤,瘤体压迫血管时,可影响脑部供血,瘤体内血栓脱落时可引起脑梗死,患者出现脑缺血症状,如头痛、头昏、失语、耳鸣、记忆力下降、半身不遂、运动失调、视力模糊等。更为严重的并发症是瘤体增大破裂,引起致死性大出血,故颈动脉瘤一旦确诊,宜尽快手术。根据瘤体大小及部位采取不同的手术方式:①较小囊性动脉瘤:游离瘤体,于瘤体颈部钳夹,切除瘤体,缝合。②梭形动脉瘤:可切除动脉瘤及病变动脉后,作动脉端吻合,必要时用人工血管或同种动脉替换切除的动脉。③夹层动脉瘤:切除病变动脉,用人造血管重建血流通道。对于高龄、严重心血管疾病无法耐受手术者,可行介入治疗。

2.病理生理

根据发病机制,颈动脉瘤的病理生理表现分为三类:①真性动脉瘤:动脉粥样硬化是最常见的原因。由于脂质在动脉壁沉积,形成粥样斑块及钙质沉着,使动脉壁失去弹性,外膜滋养血管受压,血管壁缺血。在血流压力冲击下,动脉壁变薄部分逐渐扩张膨大而形成动脉瘤,多数呈梭形,病变多累及动脉壁全周,长度不一。瘤壁厚薄不均匀,常可发生自行性破裂引起大出血。②假性动脉瘤:主要由创伤引起。动脉壁损伤破裂后,血液通过破裂处进入周围组织而形成搏动性血肿,瘤壁由动脉内膜或周围纤维组织构成,瘤内容物为凝血块及机化物,瘤体呈囊状,与动脉相通,瘤颈部较狭窄。③夹层动脉瘤:主要由先天性动脉中层囊性坏死或退行性变所致。颈动脉壁中层发生坏死病变,当内膜受损破裂时,在动脉压血流冲击下,动脉中层逐渐分离形成血肿、扩张,并向远端延伸,动脉腔变为真腔和假腔的双腔状,形成夹层动脉瘤。

3.遗传机制

自发性颈动脉夹层动脉瘤有遗传性和聚集性,约15%发现有纤维肌发育不良,2/3的自发性颈动脉夹层患者,皮肤结缔组织成分的超微结构存在异常。Ehlers-Danlos综合征(Ehlers-Danlos syndrome)、马方综合征、常染色体显性遗传性多囊肾病(autosomal polycystic kidney disease,ADPKD)和Ⅰ型成骨不全症等遗传性结缔组织病可增加自发性颈动脉夹层动脉瘤发生的风险。自发性颈动脉夹层占首次脑梗死病因的1%~2%,是青年及中年缺血性卒中患者的重要病因,占所有青年及中年缺血性卒中病因的10%~25%。

最近,Grond-Ginsbach等对伴有(49例)或不伴有(21例)皮肤结缔组织超微结构异常的自发性颈动脉夹层患者进行基因芯片筛查,发现与疾病风险相关的重复拷贝数变异(copy number variants,CNVs)涵盖了影响细胞外基质结构、胶原纤维结构和转化生长因子β受体信号通路的相关基因,包括Ⅲ型前胶原基因(collagen,typeⅢ,alpha 1,COL3A1)、V型前胶原基因(collagen,type V,alpha 1,COL5A1)、神经肌肉接头蛋白(alpha-1-syntrophin,SNTA1)和双特异性磷酸酶22(dual specificity phosphatase 22,DUPS22)等。目前还需要进一步对更大样本量的自发性颈动脉夹层患者验证这些结果。

(张伟丽)

参考文献

1.Roger VL,Go AS,Lloyd-Jones DM,et al.Heart disease and stroke statisticse 2011 update:a report from the American Heart Association.Circulation,2011,123(4):E18-E209.

2.O’Leary DH,Bots ML.Imaging of atherosclerosis:carotid intima-media rhickness.Eur Heart J,2010,31:1682-1689.

3.Polak JF,Pencina MJ,Pencina KM,et al.Carotid-wall intima-media thickness and cardiovascular events.N Engl J Med,2011,365:213-221.

4.Zarins CK,Giddens DP,Bharadvaj BK,et al.Carotid bifurcation atherosclerosis.Quantitative correlation of plaque localization with flow velocity profiles and wall shear stress.Circ Res,1983,53(4):502-514.

5.Schulz UG,Rothwell PM.Major variation in carotid bifurcation anatomy:a possible risk factor for plaque development? Stroke,2001,32(11):2522-2529.

6.Seong J,Lieber BB,Wakhloo AK.Morphological age-dependent development of the human carotid bifurcation.J Biomech,2005,38(3):453-465.

7.Irace C,Cortese C,Fiaschi E,et al.Wall shear stress is associated with intima-media thickness and carotid atherosclerosis in subjects at low coronary heart disease risk.Stroke,2004,35(2):464-468.

8.Muller JE,Tofler GH,Stone PH.Circadian variation and triggers of onset of acute cardiovascular disease.Circulation,1989,79(4):733-743.

9.Waxman S,Ishibashi F,Muller JE.Detection and Treatment of Vulnerable Plaques and Vulnerable Patients.Circulation,2006,114:2390-2411.

10.Naghavi M,Libby P,Falk E,et al.From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient:a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies:Part II.Circulation,2003,108(15):1772-1778.

11.Virmani R,Burke A,Farb A,et al.Pathology of the vulnerable plaque.J Am Coll Cardiol,2006,47(8):13-18.

12.Libby P,Ridker PM,Hansson GK.Leducq Transatlantic Network on Atherothrombosis.Inflammation in atherosclerosis:from pathophysiology to practice.J Am Coll Cardiol,2009,54(23):2129-2138.

13.Hansson GK,Libby P.The immune response in atherosclerosis:a double-edged sword.Nat Rev Immunol,2006,6:508-519.

14.Jaipersad AS,Lip GY,Silverman S,et al.The role of monocytes in angiogenesis and atherosclerosis.J Am Coll Cardiol,2014,63(1):1-11.

15.Cheng C,Tempel D,van Haperen R,et al.Atherosclerotic lesion size and vulnerability are determined by patterns of fluid shear stress.Circulation,2006,113(23):2744-2753.

16.Martinet W1,De Meyer GR.Autophagy in atherosclerosis:a cell survival and death phenomenon with therapeutic potential.Circ Res,2009,104(3):304-317.

17.Calado RT,Young NS.Telomere diseases.N Engl J Med,2009,361:2352-2365.

18.Andreassi MG.DNA damage,vascular senescence and atherosclerosis.J Mol Med,2008,86:1033-1043.

19.O’Donnell CJ,Demissie S,Kimura M,et al.Leukocyte telomere length and carotid artery intimal medial thickness:the Framingham heart study.Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol,2008,28:1165-1171.

20.Zhang W,Chen Y,Wang Y,et al.Short Telomere Length in Blood Leukocytes Contributes to the Presence of Atherothrombotic Stroke and Hemorrhagic Stroke and Risk of Post-stroke Death.Clin Sci,2013,125(1):27-36.

21.Baysal BE1,Willett-Brozick JE,Lawrence EC,et al.Prevalence of SDHB,SDHC,and SDHD germline mutations in clinic patients with head and neck paragangliomas.J Med Genet,2002,39(3):178-183.

22.Longo GM,Kibbe MR.Aneurysms of the carotid artery.Seminars in Vascular Surgery,2005,18(4):178-183.

23.Stevic I,Chan HH,Chan AK.Carotid artery dissections:thrombosis of the false lumen.Thromb Res,2011,128(4):317-324.

24.Debette S,Markus H.The genetics of cervical artery dissection:a systematic review.Stroke,2009,40:E459-E466.

25.Grond-Ginsbach C,Chen B,Pjontek R,et al.Copy number variation in patients with cervical artery dissection.Eur J Hum Genet,2012,20(12):1295-1299.