VIII. Role of nutritional factors

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A study was made of the atherosclerotic process of the cerebral arteries of the circle of Willis in 1175 consecutive autopsies in order to determine the role of nutritional factors in this degenerative vascular process. In all cases, a uniform, fairly simple coding system was used for the atherosclerotic changes so that these studies can easily be extended or compared by other investigators. The primary tissue change in cerebral atherosclerosis is an intimal connective tissue proliferation; fatty alterations when present are secondary in nature. In many of the smaller vessels of the circle of Willis, the entire atherosclerotic process consists of an extensive collagenous proliferation within the intima with no associated fatty deposits. Even in larger arteries where fatty deposits are encountered, the connective tissue proliferation within the intima is often seen in areas where no fat is present. The fact that fatty deposits in cerebral atherosclerosis appear to be a late recurrence would suggest that nutritional factors probably do not play a role in initiating this atherosclerotic process. Obesity appears to play no role in cerebral atherosclerosis. The atherosclerotic process first appears in the same age groups in individuals who are overweight and underweight. Obese individuals in the 6th and 7th decades of life tend to show a greater amount of severe atherosclerosis. However, in these same age groups, the obese patients had a greater frequency of hypertension than did the undernourished patients. It was felt that the increased frequency of severe atherosclerosis in these age groups was due to the hypertension rather than to the obesity. Patients with malignant disease tend to have cerebrovascular disease at a later age than the general population. Moreover, when atherosclerosis occurs, it tends to be much less severe in the patients with malignancy. It is suggested that wasting diseases may actually cause a regression in the atherosclerotic process rather than simply retarding its development. Diabetes tends to double the frequency and intensity of cerebral atherosclerosis in individuals beyond the 4th decade of life.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: