What are the priority areas for further investigation regarding extracranial carotid stenosis?
Further investigation into the following should be prioritized: Studying new therapies in well-designed clinical trials, including novel antithrombotic regimens (eg, direct thrombin inhibitors), improved endovascular treatments (eg, submaximal balloon angioplasty), indirect bypass, and ischemic preconditioning. Determining the interaction between hemodynamic function or collateral flow and treatments (eg, BP management and endovascular therapy). Developing and using surrogate markers of stroke risk (eg, plaque characteristics) or high-risk prognostic features (eg, diabetes) that may lead to new therapies or improve patient selection for future therapeutic trials. Genetic variants that relate to ICAS (eg, ring finger protein 213) and whether such variants affect the rate of stroke recurrence or treatment responses.