[Cerebral infarctions of the lacunar type in young adults]

From a total number of 227 patients with lacunar infarcts of the brain assisted during a period of 7 consecutive years, 18 (8%) had an age equal or below 45 years. This group of patients represent 1.1% of strokes and 1.6 of the ischemic cerebral infarcts treated in a Neurology Service during the study period. Eleven patients (64%) were male. The most relevant cerebrovascular risk factors are: arterial hypertension (55%), cardiopathy (26%), and diabetes mellitus (11%). The most common syndrome was pure motor hemiparesis (61%), pure sensitive syndrome (22%), and atypical lacunar syndrome (17%). Computerized axial tomography of the brain was positive in 44.5% of cases. The mean systolic arterial pressure during the first 24 hours of the illness was significantly lower (p less than 0.03) in the young patients. Our results indicate that lacunar cerebral infarcts in young patients: a) are uncommon, and b) constitute a group with some differential clinical characteristics and with a better immediate prognosis with respect to the remaining patients with lacunar infarcts.