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Basilar Artery (basilar + artery)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	77%

Distribution within Medical Sciences

Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Medicine	48%
Neurology	37%
3 Other Subdomains	15%

Kinds of Basilar Artery

rat basilar artery

Selected Abstracts

Anomalous Origin of the Middle Meningeal Artery from the Basilar Artery: A Case Report

JOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 3 2007
Qaisar A. Shah MD
ABSTRACT Anomalous courses, anastomoses, and origins of the middle meningeal artery have often been described in the literature; however origin from the basilar artery or its branches is exceedingly rare with only five previous reports. We describe a middle meningeal artery originating from a large lateral pontine branch of the basilar artery. The lateral pontine branch also supplied most of the cerebellar hemispheric territory normally vascularized by both the anterior inferior cerebellar artery and posterior inferior cerebellar artery. We discuss the anatomy and possible embryological development of middle meningeal origin from the basilar artery. [source]

Basilar Artery of the Capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris): an Ultrastructural Study

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 2 2004
S. Islam
Summary The present study investigated the ultrastructural features of the basilar artery of the largest rodent species, the capybara. The study suggests that the general ultrastructural morphological organization of the basilar artery of the capybara is similar to that of small rodents. However, there are some exceptions. The basilar artery of the capybara contains a subpopulation of ,granular' vascular smooth muscle cells resembling monocytes and/or macrophages. The possibility cannot be excluded that the presence of these cells reflects the remodelling processes of the artery due to animal maturation and the regression of the internal carotid artery. To clarify this issue, more systemic studies are required involving capybaras of various ages. [source]

Time course of cerebral hemodynamics in cryptococcal meningitis in HIV-negative adults

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2007
W.-N. Chang
To evaluate the cerebral hemodynamics in cryptococcal meningitis (CM) patients using non-invasive studies. Serial trans-cranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) studies were performed to measure the cerebral vasculopathy of 12 HIV-negative CM patients. With TCCS, 8 of the 22 middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) showed stenotic velocities, whereas the time-mean velocity (Vmean) of the 20 anterior cerebral arteries (ACAs), 22 posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs), and 12 basilar arteries (BAs) did not. In total, five patients had stenotic velocities, three of whom had bilateral M1 stenosis (<50%), whilst two had unilateral M1 stenosis (<50%). The Vmean of MCA increased from day 1 to day 35 and substantially decreased thereafter. The mean Pulsatility Index (PI) in the studied vessels was higher during the study period. A mismatch of the findings between TCCS and MRA studies were also demonstrated. There was a high incidence and a longer time-period of disturbed cerebral hemodynamics during the clinical course of CM. However, because of the limited case numbers for this study, further large-scale studies are needed to delineate the clinical characteristics and therapeutic influence of cerebrovascular insults in HIV-negative CM patients. [source]

Blood Flow Velocity and Pulsatility Index Differences in Patients With Unilateral Migraine

HEADACHE, Issue 7 2001
Oleg Y. Chernyshev MD
Objective.,To evaluate blood flow velocity and pulsatility in unilateral migraine without aura during the headache-free period using transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography. Methods.,Patients with unilateral headache were recruited during the headache-free period. Maximum mean flow velocity (MFV) and pulsatility index (PI) were measured in the middle cerebral (MCA) and basilar arteries. Controls were headache-free individuals without cerebrovascular disease. Results.,Twenty-five patients with right-sided migraine, 25 patients with left-sided migraine, and 19 controls were studied. The MCA PI was higher on the right headache side versus the left headache side (0.97 ± 0.2 versus 0.86 ± 0.1 cm/s, P = .02) and versus controls (0.9 ± 0.2 cm/s, NS). The basilar artery MFV was higher in patients with right-sided headache versus left-sided headache (39.5 ± 5.6 versus 34.7 ± 8.2 cm/s, P = .02) and versus controls (38.2 ± 8 cm/s, NS). No decrease in MFV with age was observed in patients with migraine. Conclusions.,Middle cerebral artery flow pulsatility and basilar artery velocity are higher in patients with right-sided migraine compared with left-sided migraineurs, during the headache-free period. Although these parameters were similar to controls, the differences found during the headache-free period in migraineurs may indicate vascular involvement predisposing to the unilateral headache recurrence. [source]

Auditory Brainstem Response versus Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Evaluation of Asymmetric Sensorineural Hearing Loss,

THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 10 2004
Roberto A. Cueva MD
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: Auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are compared for the evaluation of patients with asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). MRI with gadolinium administration is the current gold standard for identifying retrocochlear lesions causing asymmetric SNHL. The study seeks to determine the sensitivity and specificity of ABR in screening for possible retrocochlear pathology. Most important among SNHL etiologies are neoplastic lesions such as vestibular schwannomas, cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors, as well as multiple sclerosis, stroke, or other rare nonneoplastic causes. The study results will allow the author to recommend a screening algorithm for patients with asymmetric SNHL. Study Design: The study is a multi-institutional, institutional review board approved, prospective, nonrandomized comparison of ABR and MRI for the evaluation of patients with asymmetric SNHL. Methods: Three hundred twelve patients (between the ages of 18 and 87) with asymmetric SNHL completed the study. Asymmetric SNHL was defined as 15 dB or greater asymmetry in two or more frequencies or 15% or more asymmetry in speech discrimination scores (SDS). These patients prospectively underwent both ABR and MRI. The ABR and MRI were interpreted independently in a blinded fashion. In addition to the ABR and MRI results, a variety of clinical and demographic data were collected. Results: Thirty-one (9.94%) patients of the study population of 312 were found on MRI to have lesions causing their SNHL. Of the 31 patients with causative lesions on MRI there were 24 vestibular schwannomas, 2 glomus jugulare tumors, 2 ectatic basilar arteries with brainstem compression, 1 petrous apex cholesterol granuloma, 1 case of possible demyelinating disease, and 1 parietal lobe mass. Twenty-two of the 31 patients had abnormal ABRs, whereas 9 patients (7 with small vestibular schwannomas) had normal ABRs. This gives an overall false-negative rate for ABR of 29%. The false-positive rate was found to be 76.84%. Sensitivity of ABR as a screening test was 71%, and specificity was 74%. Conclusions: Ten percent of patients with asymmetric SNHL (by this study's criteria) are likely to have causative lesions found on MRI. Although the recently reported annual incidence of vestibular schwannoma in the general population is 0.00124%, for patients with asymmetric SNHL in this study, the incidence was 7.7% (nearly 4 orders of magnitude higher). ABR has been demonstrated to have low sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of these patients and cannot be relied on as a screening test for patients with asymmetric SNHL. Keeping the use of MRI conditional on the results of ABR will annually result in missed or delayed diagnosis of causative lesions in 29 patients per 1,000 screened. The author recommends abandoning ABR as a screening test for asymmetric SNHL and adoption of a focused MRI protocol as the screening test of choice (within certain guidelines). [source]

Morphological Investigations on the Circulus Arteriosus Cerebri in Mole-Rats (Spalax leucodon)

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 3 2008
A. Aydin
Summary The aim of the present study is to investigate the circulus arteriosus cerebri in mole-rats (Spalax leucodon). Six adult mole-rats were used for this purpose. Coloured latex was injected into the left ventriculus of the hearts of all the animals. After careful dissection, the circulus arteriosus cerebri (the circle of Willis) was investigated. The cerebrum and the cerebellum were supplied by the internal carotid- and the basilar arteries respectively forming the circulus arteriosus cerebri in mole-rats. In the investigated objects, the internal carotid- and the basilar arteries were not united directly and for this reason the circulus arteriosus cerebri was not formed completely in mole-rat. The branches supplying the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum originate from the basilar artery formed by union of the left and right vertebral arteries and the internal ophthalmic, the caudal cerebral, the choroid, the median cerebral, the rostral cerebral arteries originated from the internal carotid artery. After giving off the medial cerebral artery, the right and left rostral cerebral arteries on every two sides divided into the lateral and medial twin branches and by union of the lateral branches the internal ethmoidal artery, and by union of the medial branches, the ramus extending to facies medialis cerebri were formed. The ramus extending to the facies medialis cerebri was anastomosed with the branch of the caudal cerebral artery on the back of the corpus callosum. The last part of the basilar artery gave the two branches running toward the right and left side on the pontocrural groove (sulcus pontocruralis) and every one of these branches ramified into two rami. One of these rami formed into the rostral cerebellar artery and the other one extended to the tectum mesencephali. In conclusion, the arterial circle of the cerebrum and cerebellum was supplied by the internal carotid artery and the basilar artery respectively in mole-rats. [source]

KMUP-1 activates BKCa channels in basilar artery myocytes via cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
Bin-Nan Wu
This study investigated whether KMUP-1, a synthetic xanthine-based derivative, augments the delayed-rectifier potassium (KDR)- or large-conductance Ca2+ -activated potassium (BKCa) channel activity in rat basilar arteries through protein kinase-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Cerebral smooth muscle cells were enzymatically dissociated from rat basilar arteries. Conventional whole cell, perforated and inside-out patch-clamp electrophysiology was used to monitor K+ - and Ca2+ channel activities. KMUP-1 (1 ,M) had no effect on the KDR current but dramatically enhanced BKCa channel activity. This increased BKCa current activity was abolished by charybdotoxin (100 nM) and iberiotoxin (100 nM). Like KMUP-1, the membrane-permeable analogs of cGMP (8-Br-cGMP) and cAMP (8-Br-cAMP) enhanced the BKCa current. BKCa current activation by KMUP-1 was markedly inhibited by a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor (ODQ 10 ,M), an adenylate cyclase inhibitor (SQ 22536 10 ,M), competitive antagonists of cGMP and cAMP (Rp-cGMP, 100 ,M and Rp-cAMP, 100 ,M), and cGMP- and cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitors (KT5823, 300 nM and KT5720, 300 nM). Voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ current was significantly suppressed by KMUP-1 (1 ,M), and nearly abolished by a calcium channel blocker (nifedipine, 1 ,M). In conclusion, KMUP-1 stimulates BKCa currents by enhancing the activity of cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and in part this is due to increasing cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Physiologically, this activation would result in the closure of voltage-dependent calcium channels and the relaxation of cerebral arteries. British Journal of Pharmacology (2005) 146, 862,871. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706387 [source]

Involvement of nonselective cation channels in the depolarisation initiating vasomotion

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5-6 2010
Stephanie E Wölfle
Summary 1. Coordinated oscillations in diameter occur spontaneously in cerebral vessels and depend on the opening of voltage dependent calcium channels. However, the mechanism that induces the initial depolarisation has remained elusive. We investigated the involvement of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels, which encode nonselective cation channels passing Na+ and Ca2+ currents, by measuring changes in diameter, intracellular Ca2+ and membrane potential in branches of juvenile rat basilar arteries. 2. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ abolished vasomotion and relaxed arteries, but paradoxically produced depolarisation. 3. Decrease in temperature to 24°C or inhibition of phospholipase C (PLC) abolished vasomotion, hyperpolarised and relaxed arteries and decreased intracellular Ca2+. 4. Reduction in the driving force for Na+ through decrease in extracellular Na+ produced similar effects and prevented the depolarisation elicited by removal of extracellular Ca2+. 5. Nonselective TRP channel blockers, SKF96365 and gadolinium, mimicked the effects of inhibition of the PLC pathway. 6. Depolarisation of vessels in which TRP channels were blocked with SKF96365 reinstated vascular tone and vasomotion. 7. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed TRPC1 as the predominantly expressed TRPC subtype. 8. Incubation with a function blocking TRPC1 antibody delayed the onset of vasomotion. 9. We conclude that nonselective cation channels contribute to vasoconstriction and vasomotion of cerebral vessels by providing an Na+ -induced depolarisation that activates voltage dependent calcium channels. Our antibody data suggest the involvement of TRPC1 channels that might provide a target for treatment of therapy-refractory vasospasm. [source]

PARTICIPATION OF VASOPRESSIN IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CEREBRAL VASOSPASM IN A RAT MODEL OF SUBARACHNOID HAEMORRHAGE

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
Cristina C Trandafir
SUMMARY 1.,Previous studies have suggested the involvement of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and inflammation in the development of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The aim of the present study was to clarify the role of AVP in the arterial narrowing following cerebral haemorrhage by examining the effect of SR 49059 (a V1 receptor antagonist) on the diameter of rat basilar artery exposed to SAH. The effect of the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor ZM 230487 on AVP-induced contraction of rat basilar arteries was also investigated. 2.,After 1 h and 2 days from SAH induction, brains were removed and pictures of the basilar arteries were taken. The external diameter of the basilar artery was measured in the presence and absence of SR 49059 (1 mg/kg, i.v.). For in vitro experiments, the basilar arteries isolated from control and SAH rats (at 1 h and at 2 days from SAH induction) were cut into spiral preparations and the AVP (0.3 nmol/L)-induced contraction in the presence of ZM 230487 was investigated. Each group analysed (i.e. control, SAH 1 h and SAH 2 days) consisted of eight rats. 3.,The diameter of rat basilar arteries decreased by 43 and 25% at 1 h and 2 days from SAH induction, respectively, compared with control. The administration of SR 49059 significantly reduced cerebral vasospasm. After SAH induction, the diameter of the basilar artery in SR 49059-treated groups decreased by only 22% (at 1 h) and by 3% (at 2 days) compared with the control group (P < 0.01). In basilar arterial strips, ZM 230487 attenuated the vasopressin-induced contraction in both control and SAH groups. However, SAH groups showed a significant resistance of the AVP-induced contraction in the presence of ZM 230487 compared with control (P < 0.05). 4.,The results suggest that the cerebral vasospasm in SAH rats is due, at least in part, to endogenous AVP and may involve an increase in the activity of 5-lipoxygenase. SR 49059 may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cerebral vasospasm. [source]

Fluvastatin remodels resistance arteries in genetically hypertensive rats, even in the absence of any effect on blood pressure

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 10 2002
Janet M Ledingham
Summary 1.,The aims of the present study were, first, to determine whether, in the genetically hypertensive (GH) rat, fluvastatin would lower blood pressure and remodel mesenteric resistance arteries (MRA) and the basilar artery and, second, to see whether treatment with a combination of fluvastatin and the angiotensin receptor antagonist valsartan would have any extra beneficial effect on blood pressure and vascular remodelling. 2.,Male GH rats had tail-cuff systolic blood pressure (SBP) monitored weekly from the age of 7 to 12 weeks. Groups (n = 12,14) were treated with fluvastatin (4 mg/kg per day), valsartan (5 mg/kg per day), both mixed in with chow, or a combination of fluvastatin 4 mg/kg per day + valsartan 5 mg/kg per day. Untreated GH and a group of normotensive Wistar (N) rats served as control groups. 3.,At 12 weeks of age, intra-arterial (i.a.) blood pressure was measured by femoral cannulation and rats were then perfused (at the SBP of the animal) with Tyrode's solution containing heparin and papaverine followed by 2.5% glutaraldehyde in Tyrode's solution; MRA and basilar arteries were embedded in Technovit. Serial sections were cut and Giemsa stained and stereological methods used to obtain media width, lumen diameter, medial cross-sectional area (CSA) and the ratio of media width to lumen diameter. Hearts were weighed to determine left ventricular (LV) mass. 4.,Fluvastatin had no effect on blood pressure or LV mass, whereas valsartan given alone or with fluvastatin significantly reduced both parameters. 5.,In MRA, fluvastatin reduced medial CSA, increased lumen size and, therefore, probably decreased vascular resistance. The media/lumen ratio was reduced to a level below that seen with the combination treatment and to below that of the N group. 6.,In the basilar artery, fluvastatin and valsartan showed similar outward remodelling of the lumen and reduction in the media/lumen ratio. The combination treatment group showed, in addition, a reduction in medial CSA and an even lower ratio than the GH group on fluvastatin or valsartan alone or the N group. 7.,Although fluvastatin has no effect on blood pressure, it does cause significant remodelling of MRA and the basilar artery. These beneficial structural changes in a peripheral resistance artery bed and in an artery involved in regulating resistance in the brain are worthy of further study. [source]

Hemodynamic analysis of intracranial aneurysms with moving parent arteries: Basilar tip aneurysms

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 10 2010
Daniel M. Sforza
Abstract The effects of parent artery motion on the hemodynamics of basilar tip saccular aneurysms and its potential effect on aneurysm rupture were studied. The aneurysm and parent artery motions in two patients were determined from cine loops of dynamic angiographies. The oscillatory motion amplitude was quantified by registering the frames. Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of both aneurysms were constructed from 3D rotational angiography images. Two CFD calculations were performed for each patient, corresponding to static and moving models. The motion estimated from the dynamic images was used to move the surface grid points in the moving model. Visualizations from the simulations were compared for wall shear stress (WSS), velocity profiles, and streamlines. In both patients, a rigid oscillation of the aneurysm and basilar artery in the anterio-posterior direction was observed and measured. The distribution of WSS was nearly identical between the models of each patient, as well as major intra-aneurysmal flow structures, inflow jets, and regions of impingement. The motion observed in pulsating intracranial vasculature does not have a major impact on intra-aneurysmal hemodynamic variables. Parent artery motion is unlikely to be a risk factor for increased risk of aneurysmal rupture. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Recovery of Reversed Basilar Artery Flow as Seen by Transcranial Sonography and MRA Source Images for Vertebral Dissection

JOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 4 2008
Sung Ik Lee MD
ABSTRACT The dissection of the intracranial vertebral artery (VAD) is a common cause of young age brain stem stroke. VAD can be detected by conventional angiography, but there is yet no agreement on the most effective tool to use for the detection of VAD. Here, we report a patient with VAD, who was diagnosed with an intimal flap within the left vertebral artery by the magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) source images. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) showed a reversed flow in the basilar artery. After 4 months, TCD and transcranial color-coded Doppler (TCCD) confirmed a normal anterograde flow of the vertebro-basilar arteries. [source]

Anomalous Origin of the Middle Meningeal Artery from the Basilar Artery: A Case Report

Bilateral hypoglossal nerve injury following the use of the laryngeal mask without the use of nitrous oxide

ACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2004
M. Sommer
Hypoglossal nerve injury is a rare complication of anaesthesia airway management in adults. Until now the use of nitrous oxide for anaesthesia supposedly contributed to this complication. We present a case of bilateral hypoglossal nerve injury following the use of a laryngeal mask airway without the use of nitrous oxide. At the conclusion of 3 h of surgery in extreme side rotation, a 15-year-old boy of 88 kg could not extend his tongue beyond his teeth. An MRI confirmed the absence of pharyngeal haematoma and the absence of thrombosis of the basilar artery. We conclude that even when patients have no medical history and nitrous oxide is not being used, prolongation of the operation in an extreme position might increase the risk of major complications with a laryngeal mask. [source]

Systematization, Distribution and Territory of the Middle Cerebral Artery on the Brain Surface in Chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera)

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 1 2009
A. C. P. De Araujo
Summary The aim of the present study was to analyse thirty chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) brains, injected with latex, and to systematize and describe the distribution and the vascularization territories of the middle cerebral artery. This long vessel, after it has originated from the terminal branch of the basilar artery, formed the following collateral branches: rostral, caudal and striated (perforating) central branches. After crossing the lateral rhinal sulcus, the middle cerebral artery emitted a sequence of rostral and caudal convex hemispheric cortical collateral branches on the convex surface of the cerebral hemisphere to the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. Among the rostral convex hemispheric branches, a trunk was observed, which reached the frontal and parietal lobes and, in a few cases, the occipital lobe. The vascular territory of the chinchilla's middle cerebral artery included, in the cerebral hemisphere basis, the lateral cerebral fossa, the caudal third of the olfactory trigone, the rostral two-thirds of the piriform lobe, the lateral olfactory tract, and most of the convex surface of the cerebral hemisphere, except for a strip between the cerebral longitudinal fissure and the vallecula, which extended from the rostral to the caudal poles bordering the cerebral transverse fissure. [source]

Morphological Investigations on the Circulus Arteriosus Cerebri in Mole-Rats (Spalax leucodon)

Basilar Artery of the Capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris): an Ultrastructural Study

Magnetic resonance angiography in reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Shih-Pin Chen MD
Objective To investigate the evolution and clinical significance of vasoconstriction on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in patients with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes (RCVS). Methods Patients with RCVS were recruited and followed up with MRA examinations until normalization of vasoconstriction or for 6 months. The vasoconstriction severity of the major cerebral arterial segments (M1, M2, A1, A2, P1, P2, and basilar artery) was scored on a 5-point scale: 0 (0,<10%), 1 (10,<25%), 2 (25,<50%), 3 (50,<75%), and 4 (,75%). Subjects with at least 1 segment with a vasoconstriction score ,2 were eligible for the study. Initial mean scores of single or combined arterial segments were used to predict ischemic complications. Results Seventy-seven patients with RCVS (8 men/69 women; average age 47.7 ± 11.6 years) finished the study with a total of 225 MRAs performed. The mean number of arterial segments involved was 5.3 ± 3.0 in the initial MRA. Vasoconstriction scores reached their maximum 16.3 ± 10.2 days after headache onset, close to the average timing of headache resolution (16.7 ± 8.6 days). Vasoconstriction evolved in a parallel trend among different arterial segments. Seven (9.1%) patients developed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndromes (PRES). Six (7.8%) patients had ischemic stroke. A logistic regression model demonstrated that the M1,P2 combined score was associated with highest risk of PRES (odds ratio [OR], 11.6, p = 0.005) and ischemic stroke (OR, 3.4; p = 0.026). Interpretation MRA evaluation in patients with RCVS is valid. Vasoconstriction was pervasive and outlasted headache resolution. Vasoconstrictions in M1 and P2 are important determinants for PRES and ischemic stroke. ANN NEUROL 2010;67:648,656 [source]

New England medical center posterior circulation registry

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2004
Louis R. Caplan MD
Among 407 New England Medical Center Posterior Circulation registry patients, 59% had strokes without transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), 24% had TIAs then strokes, and 16% had only TIAs. Embolism was the commonest stroke mechanism (40% of patients including 24% cardiac origin, 14% intraarterial, 2% cardiac and arterial sources). In 32% large artery occlusive lesions caused hemodynamic brain ischemia. Infarcts most often included the distal posterior circulation territory (rostral brainstem, superior cerebellum and occipital and temporal lobes); the proximal (medulla and posterior inferior cerebellum) and middle (pons and anterior inferior cerebellum) territories were equally involved. Severe occlusive lesions (>50% stenosis) involved more than one large artery in 148 patients; 134 had one artery site involved unilaterally or bilaterally. The commonest occlusive sites were: extracranial vertebral artery (52 patients, 15 bilateral) intracranial vertebral artery (40 patients, 12 bilateral), basilar artery (46 patients). Intraarterial embolism was the commonest mechanism of brain infarction in patients with vertebral artery occlusive disease. Thirty-day mortality was 3.6%. Embolic mechanism, distal territory location, and basilar artery occlusive disease carried the poorest prognosis. The best outcome was in patients who had multiple arterial occlusive sites; they had position-sensitive TIAs during months to years. Ann Neurol 2004;56:389,398 [source]

Multiple cerebral aneurysms as delayed complication of left cardiac myxoma: a case report and review

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2005
M. Sabolek
Left cardiac myxoma and also consecutive embolization into the brain is well documented, whereas the association of myxomas with multiple fusiform cerebral aneurysms is rare. We analyze 33 previously reported patients and present a case of a 43-year-old woman with multiple cerebral infarctions 2 years after resection of a recurrent myxoma in the left atrium. Cerebral angiography displayed multiple fusiform aneurysms of several cerebral arteries, including a giant aneurysm of the basilar artery. Serum level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) was highly elevated. The clinical, radiological and pathological features of these aneurysms are summarized. The pathogenesis, including the role of IL-6 in the formation of myxomatous aneurysms, is discussed. [source]

Treatment of ischemic stroke complicating cardiac catheterization with systemic thrombolytic therapy

CATHETERIZATION AND CARDIOVASCULAR INTERVENTIONS, Issue 3 2005
Rod Serry MD
Abstract Ischemic stroke is a rare but serious complication of cardiac catheterization. We report a case in which systemic thrombolytic therapy was successfully utilized in treating a patient with a cerebellar stroke, leading to obtundation during elective cardiac catheterization. Underlying bilateral vertebrobasilar disease with thrombotic embolization to the basilar artery was postulated to be the pathophysiological basis for the stroke and subsequent success of thrombolytic treatment in this patient. As the consequences of this rare complication are severe, systemic thrombolytic therapy should be considered for patients suffering an acute ischemic stroke during cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Cysteinyl leukotrienes and leukotriene B4 mediate vasoconstriction to arginine vasopressin in rat basilar artery

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 12 2005
Cristina C Trandafir
Summary 1.,Arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been reported to be involved in the development of cerebral vasospasm after haemorrhage and cerebral oedema following ischaemia. Endogenously produced 5-lipoxygenase metabolites are able to contract isolated endothelium-preserved arterial strips and modulate vascular permeability. The present study addresses the role of 5-lipoxygenase and its products, namely cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) and leukotriene (LT) B4, in the contraction induced by AVP in rat basilar artery. 2.,Contractile responses to LTD4, LTC4, LTB4 or AVP were assessed in spiral preparations of rat endothelium-intact basilar artery. Contractions to AVP were determined in the absence or presence of 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors or CysLT1 or BLT receptor antagonists. Contractile responses to leukotrienes and AVP are expressed as a percentage of the contraction induced by 80 mmol/L KCl. 3.,Leukotriene D4, LTC4 and LTB4 acted as vasoconstrictor agents in rat basilar artery, causing contractions (all at concentrations of 1 µmol/L) of 42 ± 13, 54 ± 15 and 25 ± 6% of the response to 80 mmol/L KCl, respectively. A concentration,response curve was constructed for AVP over the range 1 pmol/L to 10 nmol/L and an EC50 value of 0.19 ± 0.02 nmol/L (n = 30) was determinted. The presence of the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors ZM 230487 (10 nmol/L and 0.1 and 1 µmol/L) and AA 861 (1, 3, 10, and 30 µmol/L), the CysLT1 receptor antagonist MK 571 (3, 10 and 30 µmol/L) or the BLT receptor antagonists CP 105696 and LY 255283 (3, 10 and 30 µmol/L for both) in the organ bath significantly attenuated the contractions induced by AVP in rat basilar artery (P < 0.05). 4.,The experimental results of the present study provide the first evidence for the involvement of CysLTs and LTB4 in the in vitro constriction induced by AVP in rat basilar artery. In the context of previously reported involvement of AVP in the development of cerebral vasospasm and oedema, the present study draws attention to the potential role played by the 5-lipoxygenase pathway in these pathological processes. [source]