[Lacunar stroke and cerebral small vessel disease: advocacy for a recognition]

Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) represents the sum of lesions which define a rather new clinical entity. Indeed, lacunar infarcts which are acute events of cSVD, represent 25% of all ischemic strokes. However, only few studies have dealt with acute and long term management of such stroke. Despite its rather early description around the XIXth century, the "lacune", the cardinal anatomopathological lesion of cSVD, remains only partially explained and pathogenesis is still debated. The purpose of this paper is to better define the anatomical lesions, to discuss physiopathological hypotheses and to present the most salient clinical features. Once identified cSVD should not be further overlooked.