Associations of serum total cholesterol, different types of stroke, and stenosis distribution of cerebral arteries. The Akita Pathology Study.

Abstract

The relation between serum total cholesterol levels and stroke is controversial. The Akita Pathology Study provides data on the association of serum total cholesterol, different types of stroke, and distribution of stenosis in cerebral arteries.The data are based on 750 autopsied men aged 30 years and older who were admitted to a local hospital in northeast Japan between 1966 and 1984. The overall autopsy rate was 88%. The grade of stenosis in the cerebral arteries was determined blindly by one pathologist using Baker's method for basal cerebral arteries (atherosclerosis scores) and using microscopic examination of a single basal ganglion slide for the intracerebral penetrating arteries (arteriolosclerosis scores).The age-adjusted mean value of serum total cholesterol concentration was 164 mg/dL for cerebral hemorrhage, 177 mg/dL for infarction in penetrating artery regions, and 200 mg/dL for infarction in cortical artery regions. Mean serum cholesterol was lower in deaths caused by cerebral hemorrhage th...