• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.237-240
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• 2023

Dolichoectasia of the intracranial arteries is a rare condition characterized by elongated and tortuous arteries due to progressive destruction of the vessel walls. Although most patients present with cerebrovascular accidents, our patient presented with intractable facial pain along the distribution of the trigeminal nerve. Clinical examination revealed involvement of the 5th, 7th, and 8th cranial nerves, and subsequent MRI showed dolichoectasia of the left basilar artery. The patient experienced symptomatic relief after a trial of carbamazepine along with botulinum toxin injections.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.5
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• pp.1153-1159
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• 2022

Dolichoectasia is an uncommon disorder characterized by the presence of a dilated, elongated, and tortuous cerebral artery. Its main pathologic mechanism is the disruption of the internal elastic lamina. Risk factors for dolichoectasia are advanced age, chronic hypertension, and metabolic disease. It mainly involves the vertebrobasilar vasculature (or "posterior circulation"), but dolichoectasia can also be seen in the anterior circulation, particularly the anterior cerebral artery. There are no reported cases of dolichoectasia involving both anterior and posterior circulation in South Korea. Here we report an unusual case of dolichoectasia involving both anterior and posterior circulation in a young female without any underlying disease on the basis of prominent imaging findings.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2023

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to ruptured posterior cerebral artery (PCA) intracranial arterial dolichoectasia (IADE) is very rare. As these lesions are difficult to treat microsurgically, neurointervention is preferred because the dolichoectatic artery does not have a clear neck, and the surgical field of view was deep seated with the SAH. However, in some cases, neurointervention is difficult due to anatomical variation of the blood vessel to access the lesion. In this case, a 30-year-old male patient presented with a ruptured PCA IADE and an aortic arch anomaly. Aortic arch anomalies render it difficult to reach the ruptured PCA IADE via endovascular treatment. The orifice of the vertebral artery (VA) was different from the usual cases, so it was difficult to find the entrance. After only finding the VA and arriving at the lesion along the VA, trapping was performed. Herein, we report the PCA IADE with aortic arch anomaly endovascular treatment methods and results.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2012

Objective : Hemifacial spasm (HFS) caused by vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) is very rare, and in theses cases, it is difficult to decompress the nerve from its vascular compression. The objective of this study was to investigate the outcome of microvascular decompression (MVD) for HFS caused by VBD. Methods : There were 10 patients of HFS caused by VBD at our hospital between September 1978 and September 2008. We evaluated magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and time of flight magnetic resonance imaginge (TOF MRI) findings using the criteria for VBD. We compared the clinical outcomes of MVD for the 10 patients with VBD with the overall outcomes of the total 2058 MVDs performed for HFS. Results : The results of MVD for HFS caused by VBD were successful in 90.9% of cases. The postoperative complication rate in VBD was 45.5%. Offending vessels in patients with VBD were identified visually during surgery. Adverse effects after MVD were found in 4 patients. We found that the diameter of VBD was significantly greater in patients with complications than in those with no complications (p=0.028). Conclusion : Our data shows that MVD may be a good treatment modality for HFS caused by VBD but care must be taken to avoid adverse effects from the procedure. It is important to detach the dolichoectatic artery from its surrounding structures sufficiently to allow it to be easily movable. In addition, attempts should be made to lessen the retraction of the cerebellum during release of the dolichoectatic artery.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.643-650
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• 2017

Vascular dementia (VaD) is a group of heterogeneous diseases with the common feature of cerebral hypoperfusion. To identify key factors contributing to VaD pathophysiology, we performed a detailed comparison of Wistar and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats subjected to permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAo). Eight-week old male Wistar and SD rats underwent BCCAo, followed by a reference memory test using a five-radial arm maze with tactile cues. Continuous monitoring of cerebral blood flow (CBF) was performed with a laser Doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI) system. A separate cohort of animals was sacrificed for evaluation of the brain vasculature and white matter damage after BCCAo. We found reference memory impairment in Wistar rats, but not in SD rats. Moreover, our LDPI system revealed that Wistar rats had significant hypoperfusion in the brain region supplied by the posterior cerebral artery (PCA). Furthermore, Wistar rats showed more profound CBF reduction in the forebrain region than did SD rats. Post-mortem analysis of brain vasculature demonstrated greater PCA plasticity at all time points after BCCAo in Wistar rats. Finally, we confirmed white matter rarefaction that was only observed in Wistar rats. Our studies show a comprehensive and dynamic CBF status after BCCAo in Wistar rats in addition to severe PCA dolichoectasia, which correlated well with white matter lesion and memory decline.