Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a vascular surgical procedure that is aimed at reducing accumulated cholesterol and fats in carotid arteries. While some research indicates that CEA is associated with improvements in neuropsychological functioning, other studies have identified deficits in neuropsychological functioning following CEA. The factors associated with these different outcomes are unclear. Identification of the factors that mediate post-CEA neuropsychological functioning outcomes may allow for the development of interventions that would improve such outcomes. Recent research has identified a relationship between post-CEA neuropsychological deficits, and cerebral blood flow in certain areas of the brain, with some indication that brain cell loss following CEA may be a key factor. The proposed study will explore changes in cerebral blood flow through the use of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images (DW-MRI) to investigate the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and brain perfusion in 70 CEA patients and to compare neuropsychological functioning of the CEA patients to a control group of 30 patients undergoing other peripheral vascular surgical procedures. Patients' neuropsychological functioning will be assessed pre, post and six months after the CEA or peripheral vascular surgery. Additionally DW-MRI will be assessed pre and post surgery for the patients undergoing CEA.
The study aims to investigate the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and brain perfusion in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy and control patients undergoing other peripheral vascular procedures.