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Aortic rhythmic wrinkling in youth: the PDAY study

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Abstract

Transverse, white-streak ‘wrinkles’ in the aorta were first described as Querlinien (cross lines) or Wellenlinien (wave lines) in the German literature in the early 20th century. These rhythmic structures were previously thought to be artifacts of stretching and shrinkage of the aorta. Not until the 1970s was it proposed that the areas of rhythmic wrinkling (RW) might be part of the process of atherosclerosis. We analyzed 2,650 aortas from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study for prevalence, extent, and topographical distribution of these areas of RW. Furthermore, we investigated the possible relationship of RW to atherosclerotic sudanophilic stained ‘fatty streaks’ and elevated intimal lesions called ‘raised lesions’ (RL). This study provides evidence that (1) the prevalence of RW is fairly high in the aorta and occurs in a specific distribution in both the thoracic and abdominal aorta; (2) RW seems to precede the development of RL, with RL occurring in the same topographical areas as RW; and (3) RW may be associated with the subsequent development of advanced atherosclerosis, particularly raised lesions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1901 Perdido St., P.O. Box P5-1, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Dana A. Troxclair, Donald A. Boudreau, Gray T. Malcom & Jack P. Strong

  2. The Ohio State University, 390 Bevis Hall, 1080 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Edward E. Herderick

  3. School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1600 Canal St., New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Beth A. Schmidt

Authors
  1. Dana A. Troxclair
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  2. Beth A. Schmidt
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  3. Edward E. Herderick
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  4. Donald A. Boudreau
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  5. Gray T. Malcom
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  6. Jack P. Strong
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Correspondence to Dana A. Troxclair.

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Troxclair, D.A., Schmidt, B.A., Herderick, E.E. et al. Aortic rhythmic wrinkling in youth: the PDAY study. Virchows Arch 449, 707–715 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-006-0262-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-006-0262-x

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