ArticleQuantitative imaging in medicine and surgery2025
Statin therapy reduces vertebral artery atherosclerotic plaques: a case report with insight from vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging.
Article in Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Posterior circulation stroke accounts for a substantial proportion of ischemic cerebrovascular events, with vertebral artery (VA) atherosclerosis representing an important etiological factor. Although statin therapy is a well-established modality for stabilizing atherosclerotic plaques and reducing stroke risk, its direct effects on VA plaque regression have not been sufficiently explored, particularly through high-resolution vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (VW-MRI). We present a case demonstrating VA atherosclerotic plaque regression on serial VW-MRI following statin therapy. Case Description: A 65-year-old man with hypertension presented with right upper extremity paresthesia. Initial imaging, including VW-MRI and transfemoral cerebral angiography (TFCA), revealed approximately 80% stenosis of the right proximal VA, which was associated with a large, stable plaque characterized by an intact fibrous cap and a necrotic core. The patient was initiated on high-intensity statin therapy (atorvastatin 40 mg daily), which was later reduced to 10 mg following significant improvement in the patient's lipid profile. Serial imaging over a 3-year period demonstrated complete radiological resolution of VA stenosis and disappearance of the previously visualized plaque. The patient remained neurologically stable throughout the follow-up period. Conclusions: This case provides significant imaging-based evidence of VA plaque regression following long-term statin therapy, as demonstrated via serial VW-MRI and angiographic studies. Despite prior assumptions regarding the limited responsiveness of vertebrobasilar circulation to statins, these findings demonstrate the potential utility of intensive lipid-lowering therapy in the management of posterior circulation atherosclerosis. VW-MRI may serve as a valuable tool for monitoring plaque evolution and therapeutic responses in cerebrovascular diseases.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.