Cerebral infarction caused by vasospasm

Fifteen patients with cerebral infarction, the majority of them being under the age of 40 years, were reviewed. Patients in whom an underlying structural disease, such as atheroma or thromboembolism, was suspected on clinical grounds were excluded. On the basis of either a personal or family history of migraine, or a concomitant vascular headache, or a migratory pattern of evolution of the neurological deficit, a migrainous disorder was considered possible in 14 patients. It is postulated that cerebral vasospasm is a cause of cerebral infarction, especially in younger people.