Relationship Between Intraluminal Thrombus Volume and Circulating ADAMTS-13 Activity in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

Introduction: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) with intraluminal thrombus (ILT) are suggested to be more prone to rupture than AAAs without. Prior studies indicate that the von Willebrand factor (vWf) plays a role in the formation of ILT since a positive correlation between ILT volume and vWf has been shown. vWf mediates the tethering of platelets at sites of endothelial injury, and the protease ADAMTS-13 cleaves larger forms of vWf, thus counteracting the thrombosis cascade and maintaining haemostatic balance. When investigating the largest quantifiable thrombus in the human body, it was hypothesised that circulating ADAMTS-13 activity may be associated with ILT size in patients with AAA and the aim was to explore this potential relationship using 3D contrast enhanced ultrasound (3D-CEUS) for ILT volume determination. Report: In this retrospective, exploratory study, 60 patients with AAA were evaluated, and the association between ILT volume and thickness and ADAMTS-13 was estimated using 3D-CEUS. ADAMTS-13 activity was measured in plasma samples obtained the same day. No association between ILT volume ( Discussion: After evaluating the largest quantifiable intraluminal thrombus in the vasculature, it was concluded that, surprisingly, circulating ADAMTS-13 activity seems unrelated to ILT formation in AAA.