Transcranial Doppler velocities in patients with thromboangiitis obliterans

The idea of cerebrovascular injury in cases of thromboangiitis obliterans was not strange to Leo Buerger, but Jäger (1932), as well Lindenberg and Spatz (1939), first established it. The aim of this study was to investigate the hemodynamics in the basal cerebral arteries by means of transcranial Doppler in patients with thromboangiitis obliterans. Thirty patients (all men; average age 40.03 +/- 16.4 years) were included--one group twenty-four to forty years of age and another group forty-one to fifty years of age. The results show that the blood flow velocities in middle and anterior cerebral arteries in both groups of patients were significantly lower than in healthy persons. The trends towards reduction of blood flow velocity were also evident in posterior cerebral arteries. The authors describe in detail 2 patients who suffered major ischemic stroke. Cerebrovascular disorders in Buerger's disease are probably more frequent than supposed and have to be taken into account.