Multiple aneurysms associated with bilateral carotid occlusion and venous angioma: surgical management risk-case report.

A unique case of multiple aneurysms associated with bilateral carotid artery occlusion and venous angioma is described. A 42 year old female presented with subarachnoid haemorrhage. Cerebral angiograms demonstrated(1) a ruptured saccular aneurysm in the right posterior cerebral artery,(2) bilateral occlusion of internal carotid arteries,(3) a rete mirabile in the subtemporal fossa fed by left external carotid artery which connected with the internal carotid artery at the cavernous portion where a saccular aneurysm had formed, and(4) a venous angioma in the posterior fossa. The ruptured aneurysm of the posterior cerebral artery was obliterated preserving the anterior choroidal arteries. However, a left hemiparesis developed and CT scan revealed a small low density area in the right posterior limb of the internal capsule postoperatively. A ruptured aneurysm associated with bilateral extracranial carotid occlusion poses a clinical dilemma and treatment of such cases is challenging and difficult. The non-surgical and surgical outcomes of ruptured cerebral aneurysms associated with internal carotid occlusion are reviewed.     

The arterial patterns associated with internal carotid disease and cerebral infarcts

In 20 necropsies with 15 stenosed and 17 thrombotic occluded internal carotid arteries there were 46 cerebral infarcts larger than 1 cm diameter. Using portmortem arteriographic and pathological techniques the patterns of the neck and brain artery systems were correlated with the situation and extent of the brain infarcts. Massive infarcts involving two major cerebral artery territories were associated with distal internal carotid artery occlusion and grossly ineffective cervical and circle of Willis anastomoses. Isolated middle cerebral artery territory infarcts were associated with internal carotid occlusion or stenosis and impairment of the circle of Willis anastomoses, perhaps with middle cerebral artery stenosis. The pattern of adequate size arteries determined if these infarcts were total, deep central, anterior, medium or posterior partial territory infarcts. Boundary zone infarcts were associated with internal carotid artery disease and limitation of anterior or posterior circle of Willis anastomoses. These limitations determined which boundary zones were affected. Isolated anterior cerebral artery territory infarcts were associated with bilateral internal carotid disease and an anterior cerebral artery stenosis or small caliber anterior communicating artery. Isolated posterior cerebral artery territory infarcts were associated with internal carotid disease and a direct impairment of the ipsilateral posterior cerebral artery capability.     

Bilateral anterior cerebral artery infarction resulting from explosion-type injury to the head and neck

A 43-year-old woman suffered a blast-type injury to the head and neck. She subsequently developed bilateral internal carotid artery occlusion and bilateral anterior cerebral artery infarction not demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging scan 24 hours after the explosion, but confirmed by a second scan 8 days after the explosion. In patients with blast-type injury to the head and neck who develop coma with a nonfocal neurological exam, the possibility of bilateral carotid artery occlusion and bilateral ischemic infarction should be considered.     

Bilateral infarction in the territory of the anterior cerebral arteries

An elderly hypertensive man had extensive bilateral infarction in the distribution of the anterior cerebral arteries. The circle of Willis was fully formed, but occlusion of the dominant anterior cerebral artery, aggravated and perhaps caused by postlaparotomy hypotension, produced the dramatic lesions, causing akinetic mutism. This stroke pattern occurs in various settings and does not require an anomalous azygous unilateral supply to both anterior cerebral arteries.     

Early operation of ruptured basilar artery aneurysm associated with bilateral carotid occlusion (moyamoya disease)

A 34-year-old Caucasian man presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Angiography revealed bilateral carotid occlusion at the cavernous sinus and an aneurysm at the basilar artery bifurcation. The whole brain was supplied with blood from the basilar artery and posterior cerebral arteries through a large number of collateral vessels to the internal carotid artery bifurcation, middle cerebral and anterior cerebral arteries: the moyamoya phenomenon. The aneurysm was clipped within hours of the subarachnoid hemorrhage. The relation between moyamoya disease and basilar artery aneurysms is discussed and some surgical and management considerations are given.     

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus and delayed ipsilateral cerebral infarction

We studied five patients who had acute cerebral infarctions 5 weeks to 6 months after herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). All had infarcts of the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to the HZO, and one also had a cerebellar infarct. Cerebral arteriography in one patient disclosed narrowing of the middle cerebral artery, occlusion of the anterior cerebral artery ipsilateral to the HZO and narrowing of the opposite anterior cerebral artery. In another case, arteriography revealed occlusion of the distal internal carotid artery on the side of the HZO.     

A case report of bilateral cerebral peduncular infarction manifesting tetraparesis and pseudobalbur palsy]

A 63-year-old female had presented with right hemiparesis and slight dysarthria. MRI had showed the infarction of left pons and left peduncle. Three months later she further presented with left hemiparesis, severe dysarthria and swallowing disturbance. MRI showed bilateral cerebral peduncular infarction. And the angiogram showed the occlusion of basilar artery at the just distal portion of the superior cerebellar artery. We recognized our case as the infarction due to the basilar artery occlusion. The 16 cases of bilateral cerebral peduncular infarction were reported. In these reports, the symptoms of bilateral cerebral peduncular infarction were locked-in syndrome in 15 cases and persistent vegetative state in only one case. Our patient presented with tetraparesis and pseudobalbur palsy not with locked-in syndrome, probably because the area of infarction was limited within almost lateral portion of peduncle. The sparing of posterior cerebral artery was one of the reason of such a condition. This is the first report of bilateral cerebral peduncular infarction manifesting tetraparesis and pseudobalbur palsy.     

THE AMNESIC SYNDROME OF POSTERIOR CEREBRAL ARTERY OCCLUSION

Ten patients who suffered an acute onset of amnesia associated with either unilateral or bilateral visual field defects are described. Clinical evaluation pointed to infarction in the posterior cerebral artery territory in each case. The posterior cerebral artery supplies medial temporal structures (including hippocampus), and infarction in this region is presumably responsible for the amnesia. Amnesia occurring as a symptom of a stroke was thus strongly linked to posterior cerebral artery occlusion. Amnesia is usually said to require bilateral lesions but four cases in the present series appeared to have unilateral (left-sided) occlusion. There are several reports in the literature of amnesia following either left posterior cerebral artery occlusion or left temporal lobectomy. The question of unilateral vs. bilateral damage in the genesis of amnesic states is discussed in relation to this left-sided preponderance and in the context of the common origin of both posterior cerebral arteries. From present evidence it is concluded that lesions confined to the left side may cause temporary amnesia, but that the evidence for permanent amnesia is inconclusive.     

Utilisation behaviour consequent to bilateral SMA softening

The case of patient CU, who presented with severe utilisation behaviour, eventually unaccompanied by psychometric signs of frontal involvement, is reported. He suffered from a bilateral stroke within the territory of the anterior cerebral artery. His arterial system was characterised by a unique variant, whereby the right anterior cerebral artery was missing and three trunks originated from the left anterior cerebral artery, each bifurcating into right and left branches. An occlusion of the middle trunk immediately before its partition gave rise to a symmetrical bilateral parasagittal lesion that damaged the supplementary motor areas (medial part of Brodmann's area 6), sparing the lateral regions including the premotor cortices, the corpus callosum and the gyri cinguli. The hypothesis is put forward that utilisation behaviour should be conceived as a double anarchic hand, and its interpretation should rest on the damaged balance between the premotor cortices, responsive to environmental triggers, and the supplementary motor areas, which modulate actions and inhibit them. The imbalance due to the lesion would result in the patients being left at the mercy of environmental stimuli, unable to inhibit inappropriate actions. This intra-frontal hypothesis accounts for the data presented and those from the literature better than the previously held fronto-parietal equipoise.     

Cerebral hemodynamics in relation to patterns of collateral flow.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We sought to investigate the relation between collateral flow via different pathways and hemodynamic parameters measured by dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI in patients with severe carotid artery disease. METHODS: Dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI was performed in 66 patients and 33 control subjects. Patients had severe stenosis (>70%, n=12), unilateral occlusion (n=38), or bilateral occlusion (n=16) of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Cerebripetal flow and collateral flow via the circle of Willis were investigated with MR angiography. Collateral flow via the ophthalmic artery was investigated with transcranial Doppler sonography. RESULTS: Patients with ICA stenosis had well-preserved cerebral perfusion and were in general not dependent on collateral supply. Patients with unilateral ICA occlusion had impaired cerebral perfusion. However, appearance time, peak time, and mean transit time in white matter were less increased in patients with than in patients without collateral flow via the circle of Willis (P<0.05). Furthermore, patients with collateral flow via both anterior and posterior communicating arteries had less increased regional cerebral blood volume than patients with collateral flow via the posterior communicating artery only (P<0.05). Patients with bilateral ICA occlusion had severely compromised hemodynamic status despite recruitment of collateral supply. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with unilateral ICA occlusion, the pattern of collateral supply has significant influence on hemodynamic status. Collateral flow via the anterior communicating artery is a sign of well-preserved hemodynamic status, whereas no collateral flow via the circle of Willis or flow via only the posterior communicating artery is a sign of deteriorated cerebral perfusion.     

Bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction with hypothalamic dysfunction

Unilateral thalamic lesions cause transient or permanent behavioral, sensory and oculomotor disturbances; bilateral lesions of thalamus result in more severe and longer lasting symptoms. We present an atypical case of bilateral paramedian thalamic infarct with concomitant hypothalamic dysfunction. The only risk factor of ischaemic stroke found in the patient was a short lasting episode of atrial fibrillation. Bilateral paramedian thalamic infarcts may result from occlusion of one paramedian thalamic artery, which arises from the posterior cerebral artery, either with separated or with a common trunk, thus supplying the thalamus bilaterally. Independently of anatomical variants of thalamus blood supply, the most probable cause of infarct in our patient was unilateral or bilateral occlusion of the posterior cerebral artery by cardioembolism, probably in the course of basilar artery occlusion. Hypothalamic dysfunction may accompany thalamic infarcts; thus hypothalamo-pituitary function should be routinely assessed in bithalamic infarcts.     

Akinetic mutism and bilateral anterior cerebral artery occlusion

Three cases of bilateral anterior cerebral artery occlusion are presented with akinetic mutism. The anatomical distribution of the infarction in these patients combined with cases in the literature suggests that this syndrome can have a localizing value for the clinician. If increased intraventricular pressure is not present, the clinician can suspect a bilateral lesion of cingulate gyrus, medial nuclei of basal ganglia, and/or anterior and reticular nuclei of the thalamus.     

Posterior cerebral artery occlusion associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

Cerebral infarction is a rare complication of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. In all cases previously reported in the literature, vascular occlusion occurred in the anterior brain circulation, either the internal carotid or the middle cerebral artery. We report a case of a child with posterior cerebral artery occlusion and resultant hemiparesis associated with M. pneumoniae infection.     

10例双侧颈动脉重度狭窄或闭塞患者的临床特点分析

目的探讨双侧颈动脉重度狭窄或闭塞患者的临床特点。方法回顾性分析10例双侧动脉重度狭窄或闭塞患者临床特点及血流代偿情况。结果 10例患者中,双侧颈总动脉闭塞和颈内动脉闭塞各1例,双侧颈内动脉重度狭窄5例,一侧闭塞合并一侧重度狭窄3例。临床表现为后循环缺血5例,后循环合并前循环缺血3例,前循环缺血2例。7例行DSA患者,有7例后交通动脉开放,4例前交通动脉开放。结论双侧颈动脉重度狭窄或闭塞患者临床表现以后循环缺血多见,后交通动脉可能为其主要代偿模式。     

Bihemisphere Ischemia Due to a Unilateral Lesion: A Case Report

Bihemispheric ischemic strokes secondary to unilateral vessel disease are uncommon. We present the case of a 70-year-old man with multiple acute/subacute bilateral infarcts. The patient was found to have stenosis of the left internal carotid artery secondary to herpes zoster ophthalmicus vasculopathy, with involvement of the left proximal middle and anterior cerebral arteries. Angiographic studies also revealed A1 segment aplasia of the right anterior cerebral artery (ACA), thus indicating dependence on the left-sided circulation for perfusion of the bilateral ACA vascular territory. This case illustrates how A1 segment aplasia, an anatomic variant of the circle of Willis detected by angiographic studies, can contribute to bilateral infarction in the ACA vascular territory.     

Intraaneurysmal embolization of an unruptured basilar tip aneurysm associated with moyamoya disease.

We describe a patient with moyamoya disease associated with an unruptured basilar tip aneurysm which was treated by endovascular embolization using Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs). A 53-year-old man presented with left hemiparesis persisting for 3 mon ths before admission. Cerebral angiography revealed occlusion of the bilateral middle cerebral arteries and the left anterior cerebral artery, stenosis of the right anterior cerebral artery, and basal moyamoya vessels. In addition, a saccular small aneurysm was seen at the top of the basilar artery. The aneurysm was completely embolized by intraaneurysmal GDCs. Direct surgical clipping is often selected for the treatment of posterior fossa aneurysms in moyamoya disease. However, complete clipping is usually difficult due to the difficulties in operative technique associated with moyamoya disease. We suggest that the endovascular treatment using GDCs is comparatively safe and effective for the treatment of surgically difficult aneurysms in patients with moyamoya disease.     

Anterior cerebral artery velocity changes in disease of the middle cerebral artery stem

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography can map the changes in blood velocity that result from stenosis or occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. To evaluate patterns of collateral blood flow in disease of the middle cerebral artery stem, we used both cerebral angiography and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography to study the systolic blood velocities in both anterior cerebral arteries in 10 consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery stenosis or occlusion. Five patients had no evidence of hemodynamically significant carotid disease and good-quality measurements of systolic velocity in each anterior cerebral artery. Two of the five patients had middle cerebral artery stem stenosis and the other three had occlusion. The ratios of mean blood velocity in the normal compared with the abnormal side for the five patients (mean 1.34 +/- 0.23, range 1.15-1.74) were significantly higher than ratios for 10 controls (mean 1.04 +/- 0.12, range 0.76 +/- 1.19) using an unpaired t test (t = 3.492, 0.0005 less than p less than 0.005). Our results suggest that transcranial Doppler ultrasound measurements of anterior cerebral artery blood velocity may be a useful index of collateral blood flow from the anterior cerebral artery territory into the middle cerebral artery territory. Changes in mean velocity ratio may document the evolution and adequacy of collateral blood flow over the cerebral convexity in middle cerebral artery stem disease. In addition, the changes in anterior cerebral artery blood velocity appear to be an important corroborative finding for middle cerebral artery stem occlusion.     

血管内治疗前循环不同部位及原因血管闭塞导致的急性脑梗死5例分析

目的探讨前循环不同部位血管病变导致的急性脑梗死患者,经血管内治疗所采取的不同方法以及临床效果和安全性。方法回顾性分析2016年3月-2016年12月采用单纯Solitaire FR支架行急性脑梗死动脉取栓术、中间导管吸栓或结合血管内支架成形,治疗5例具有代表性的前循环不同部位血管闭塞导致的急性脑梗死患者,其中颈内动脉起始部闭塞1例、颈内动脉海绵窦段闭塞1例、颈内动脉起始部重度狭窄合并颈内动脉末端闭塞1例、大脑中动脉M1段闭塞1例、M2段主干闭塞1例。评价取栓或血管内成形治疗后即刻、24 h及术后3 m效果。结果 5例患者均获得闭塞血管再通,但操作方法各异,无明显与操作相关并发症,术后24 h平均NIHSS评分较术前减少7分。术后3 m,5例患者mRS评分0~2分。结论依据不同部位、不同原因的血管闭塞,个体化使用Solitaire FR支架取栓治疗、中间导管血栓抽吸或血管内支架植入术及球囊扩张术等血管成形术,治疗急性脑梗死,能提高闭塞血管的再通率,有效改善颅内外大血管闭塞患者的预后。     

Anterior cerebral artery occlusion clinical analysis of 27 self-experienced cases

From the years 1977 through 1989, the author experienced 27 cases with only anterior cerebral artery (ACA) occlusion but without any other main cerebral arterial occlusions. These were proven by cerebral angiographies and verified by CT. Two patients showing large infarction in the left frontal lobe on CT but showing no evidence of arterial occlusion by cerebral angiography were also registered in this study because these patients were thought to have recanalized ACA. There were 15 males and 12 females with an age of 61.5 +/- 7.98 (mean +/- SD) and 66.1 +/- 6.45, respectively. Twenty two cases had cerebral thrombosis and 5 had cerebral embolism. There were 4 cases with bilateral ACA occlusions, 8 with right ACA occlusion and 15 with left ACA occlusion. Twenty two patients (81%) were alert on admission and this fact might explain their excellent ADL on discharge: full recovery in 9 patients (33%) and self-management in 12 patients (44%). Seventeen patients (63%) had a CT-proven infarcted area with a correlation to ACA occlusion (s), while 9 patients (33%) showed no correlation between an infarction on CT and an ACA occlusion. One patient showed no abnormal findings on CT. Four patients with right ACA occlusion were incidentally observed, even though their mode of onset was strokes. The symptoms of the other 23 patients were those of anterior cerebral artery syndromes: hemiparesis (74%), urinary incontinence (39%), forced grasping (39%), mutism (30%), indifference (26%) and apraxia (22%) etc.     

Subcortical infarcts (caudate nucleus) in a case of bilateral anterior cerebral artery occlusion]

The authors describe a patient with bilateral anterior cerebral artery (ACA) occlusion. CT and MRI revealed bilateral encephalomalacia in the regions supplied by Heubner arteries and/or by perforating branches of ACA. The patient presented mainly with frontal symptomatology resulting from caudate nuclei lesion. Frontal symptomatology due to caudate impairment is discussed in the sense of frontal-subcortical circuits: lateral orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate ones. We emphasise a similarity of behavioural and cognitive disorders in early Huntington's disease and in frontal lobe lesion.