Patients with blocked carotid arteries show better functioning after unblocking the arteries with carotid stenting.

The carotid arteries, in the neck, can become blocked with fatty deposits which leave the person at risk of a stroke, even if they do not have symptoms. In carotid stenting, a wire device, known as a stent , is inserted which widens the arteries. Previous work shows that the procedure can prevent stroke among those at high risk. Now researchers reveal that stenting also improves the patient's memory, thinking and even perceptions.

In the study, patients having stenting were given a battery of neurocognitive tests before and after the procedure. Marked improvements were seen among patients, especially if they had no symptoms of carotid blockage - presumably because they had not suffered actual brain damage from strokes or mini-strokes. It is thought that the stents prevent brain damage from occurring and so stop tiny piece of the plaque that thickens the carotid artery from entering the brain. In effect, the stent acts like a kind of filter. These are interim results, as the researchers continue to follow up this group of patients.

Source

Society of Interventional Radiology meeting 31st March 2006