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Protocol for Isolating the Mouse Circle of Willis
Published on: October 22, 2016
Anatomical Variations in the Posterior Circle of Willis and Vascular Pathologies in Isolated Unilateral Thalamic
Johannes Goerlitz1, Holger Wenz1, Mansour Al-Zghloul1
1Department of Neuroradiology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Insights
Smaller posterior Circle of Willis (CoW) artery diameters are linked to unilateral thalamic strokes. Assessing CoW anatomy on MRA may help predict stroke risk in specific thalamic territories.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Radiology
- Vascular Imaging
Background:
- Unilateral thalamic infarction is a specific type of stroke.
- The Circle of Willis (CoW) is a key arterial structure at the base of the brain.
- Understanding variations in the CoW may be crucial for stroke etiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the anatomical configuration of the posterior Circle of Willis (CoW) and the occurrence of unilateral thalamic infarction.
- To identify specific CoW variations associated with different thalamic infarction patterns.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 111 patients with acute isolated unilateral thalamic infarction using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).
- Vascular assessment via magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to evaluate the posterior communicating artery (PComA) and posterior cerebral artery (P1, P2 segments).
- Measurement of arterial diameters and identification of pathologies like stenosis or occlusion.
Main Results:
- Inferolateral artery territory infarctions were most common (70.2%).
- Paramedian thalamic infarction correlated with ipsilateral P1 segment hypoplasia/absence (P < .001).
- Tuberothalamic infarction showed a trend towards association with ipsilateral PComA hypoplasia/absence (P = .08).
- Smaller diameters of relevant CoW segments were observed in patients with ipsilateral thalamic infarction.
Conclusions:
- Circle of Willis (CoW) configuration assessment using MRA can aid in understanding unilateral thalamic stroke patterns.
- Reduced diameter of specific CoW segments may represent a risk factor for ipsilateral thalamic stroke within the corresponding vascular territory.
Background And Purpose:
To characterize relations between configurations of the posterior part of the Circle of Willis (CoW) and the occurrence of unilateral thalamic infarction.
Methods:
From a magnetic resonance imaging report database, we identified and analyzed 111 patients with acute isolated unilateral thalamic infarction on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Vascular pathologies were noted on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and the diameter of the posterior communicating artery (PComA) and the P1 and P2 segments of the posterior cerebral artery determined.
Results:
Most infarctions were observed in the territory of the inferolateral arteries (70.2%), followed by the paramedian (16.3%), tuberothalamic (8.7%), and posterior choroidal arteries (4.8%). Relevant vascular pathologies included stenosis of the basilar artery (4.5%), P1 segment stenosis (4.5%)/occlusion (.9%), and P2 segment stenosis (14.4%)/occlusion (4.5%). Paramedian thalamic infarction was associated with ipsilateral P1 segment hypoplasia/absence (P < .001); tuberothalamic infarction with ipsilateral PComA hypoplasia/absence (P = .08). Furthermore, the diameter of the relevant CoW segment was smaller in patients with ipsilateral thalamic infarction.
Conclusions:
Assessment of CoW configuration on MRA may be helpful to understand the appearance of unilateral thalamic stroke independent from stroke etiology. A smaller diameter of the relevant CoW segment might be a risk factor for ipsilateral thalamic stroke in the corresponding thalamic vascular territory.
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