Abstract
Atherosclerotic disease often involves the intracranial arteries including those encased by cranial bones and dura, and those located in the subarachnoid space. Age, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus are independent risk factors for intracranial atherosclerosis. Intracranial atherosclerosis can result in thromboembolism with or without hypoperfusion leading to transient or permanent cerebral ischaemic events. High rates of recurrent ischaemic stroke and other cardiovascular events mandate early diagnosis and treatment. Present treat ment is based on a combination of antiplatelet drugs, optimisation of blood pressure and LDL cholesterol values, and intracranial angioplasty or stent placement, or both, in selected patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 984-998 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | The Lancet |
Volume | 383 |
Issue number | 9921 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:AIQ has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (RO1-NS44976–01A2; drugs provided by ESP Parma), the American Heart Association Established Investigator Award (0840053N), the National Institutes of Health (U01-NS062091–01A2, drugs provided by Cornerstone Therapeutics), and the Minnesota Medical Foundation. LRC declares that he has no conflicts of interest.