[Cerebrovascular accidents and oral contraceptives (reflections a propos of 36 observations)]

Thirty-six cases of cerebro-vascular accidents in young women using oral contraceptives have been studied and a survey of the literature devoted to the subject gives an opportunity to discuss a few problems related with these accidents. They occur with no evident relationship with the type of drug used, and the duration of treatment; in 66 p. 100 of the cases these patients have a definite and sometimes severe pathological history prior to the neurological accident. The cerebro-vascular accidents are of the ischemic type in more than 80 p. 100 of the cases. Angiographic studies demonstrate various types of lesion: stenosis or thrombosis of the arteries; in almost all of the cases the internal carotid artery or the sylvian artery or both of them are concerned; the angiogram appeared normal in 8 cases.