What is dolichoectasia of the basilar artery?
Dolichoectasia of vertebrobasilar artery is a condition in which the vertebral/basilar artery is elongated, distended and tortuous. It is usually asymptomatic. It may present with compressive or ischemic symptoms. Hydrocephalus as a complication of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia is rare.
What causes dolichoectasia?
Dolichoectasia is associated with hypertension, older age, and male sex; it is also reportedly associated with heritable connective tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (2).
What are the symptoms of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia?
The mass effect of VBD can compress the nearby brainstem and cranial nerves, leading to symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, choking on water, cranial nerve damage, neurogenic hypertension, or pseudo space-occupying lesions within cranial fossa [4, 6, 29-31].
What is intracranial dolichoectasia?
Intracranial arterial dolichoectasia is a condition characterized by enlargement, tortuosity, or elonga- tion of major arteries at the base of the brain, usu- ally the distal vertebral arteries, the basilar artery, and the distal internal carotid artery segments.
What does Dolichoectatic mean?
The term dolichoectasia means dilated and elongated. It is used to characterize arteries that have shown a significant deterioration of their tunica intima (and occasionally the tunica media), weakening the vessel walls and causing the artery to elongate and distend.
Is Dolichoectasia hereditary?
In rare instances, an underlying hereditary condition, connective tissue disorder, or infection predispose to the development of IADE. However, most cases are sporadic and associated with traditional vascular risk factors including advanced age, male gender, and arterial hypertension.
What is Ectatic vertebral artery?
Vertebral artery ectasia refers to an abnormal dilatation of the vertebral artery. It is also known as a dolichoarterial loop (of Danziger).
What part of the brain does the basilar artery supply?
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The basilar artery (BA) serves as the main conduit for blood flow through the posterior circulation. It directly supplies the brainstem and cerebellum and provides distal blood flow to the thalami and medial temporal and parietal lobes.
What is medulla compression?
Anterolateral compression of the medulla oblongata is the most common cause of VACS. The pulsatile impact of a tortuous vertebral artery on an impingement location may be responsible for patients with recurrent symptoms or transient symptoms.
Is basilar artery in brainstem?
Basilar artery. The basilar artery lies at the front of the brainstem in the midline and is formed from the union of the two vertebral arteries. The basilar artery terminates by splitting into the left and right posterior cerebral arteries.
What is basilar aneurysm?
definitions – Basilar Artery Aneurysm. Basilar Artery Aneurysm (n.) 1.(MeSH)Abnormal outpouching in the wall of intracranial blood vessels. Most common are the saccular (berry) aneurysms located at branch points in CIRCLE OF WILLIS at the base of the brain.
What is basal artery stenosis?
definitions – Basilar Artery Stenosis. Basilar Artery Stenosis (n.) 1.(MeSH)Localized or diffuse reduction in blood flow through the vertebrobasilar arterial system, which supplies the BRAIN STEM; CEREBELLUM ; OCCIPITAL LOBE ; medial TEMPORAL LOBE; and THALAMUS .