Morphometry of the Middle Cerebral Arteries: A Radio-Anatomical Study Based on Computed Tomography Angiography Findings

Middle cerebral artery (MCA), which has the largest irrigation area of the arteries that feed the brain, is an important artery whose microanatomy should be well known because of its vascular variation. In pathologies which are known to affect the cerebrovascular system such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension, morphometric characteristics of MCA gain importance. The aim of this study is to compare the morphometric characteristics of M1 segment of MCA in T2DM and hypertensive patients with those of healthy control group by using computed tomographic angiography (CTA). The study was carried out with retrospective morphometric analysis of CTA images of 200 individuals between 40 and 65 years of age. The individuals were grouped in four as hypertensive patients (group 1), patients with T2DM (group 2), patients with hypertension and T2DM (group 3) and healthy control group (group 4). Length and diameter measurements of M1 segment were performed and recorded by using 3D CTA images. While statistically significant difference was found between bilateral M1 segment diameters of both women and men (p<0.05), no statistically significant difference was found between segment lengths (p>0.05). As a result of the post hoc analysis performed, it was concluded that right and left M1 segment diameter of group 1, group 2 and group 3 was found to be different from group 4 in both sexes (p<0.05). We believe that this study will both be a guide in radio-anatomic assessments to be performed and also increase microanatomic level of information in the surgical treatment of the artery by showing the morphometric changes that occur in M1 segment of MCA in T2DM diseases.