Cerebrovascular Disease Flashcards
Two forms of cerebrovacular disease ?
1) Hypoxia, Ischemia, infarction; impairment of blood supply and oxygenation of CNS tissue
2) Hemorrhagic; rupture of CNS vessels
Common etiology of CNS infarction?
Embolism, can be global or focal
Common etiologies of hemorrhagic accident in the CNS
- Hyoertension
- Vascularanomalies (aneurysms and malformations )
- trauma
Stroke is defined as ?
Sudden onset of neurological deficit resulting from hemorrhage or or focal ischemia
Epidemiology of cerebrovadcular disease?
- their most common cause of death: (after heart disease and cancer)
- most common cause of neurological morbidity and mortality
Biological process that takes place in ischemia?
Ischemia leads to
- ATP Depletion
- loss of membrane potential needed for neuronal electrical activity
- elevation of cytoplasmic calcium levels
- inappropriate release of excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters that cause cell damage via calcium influx
- Glutamate release through N methyl D aspartate type glutamate receptors (NMDA)
Zones of ischemic injury
1) umbra - necrotic tissue
2) penumbra - At risk tissue
Clinicalpathologic form of CVD includes?
- Global cerebral ischemia (diffuse ischemic encephalopathy)
- Transient ischemic attack ( TIA)
- Stroke ( hemorrhagic or ischemic )
Causes of diffuse ischemic encephalopathy
- fall in blood flow to the brain (shock, cardiac arrest, hypotension)
- Infarcts in watershed areas (between anterior and middle cerebral arteries)
- Damage to vulnerable regions (purkinje neurons, hippocampus pyramidal cell layer -CA1 (sommer sector), pyramidal neurons of the cortex )
- cortical laminar necrosis *(diffuse ischemic necrosis of the neocortex, may lead to brain death)
Morphological features of DIE
- Gross; ischemic areas are edmatous with widened gyri and narrowed sulci
- Loss of hey and white matter differentiation
Pseudo-laminar necrosis pattern is formed from?
Uneven cortical neuronal loss and gliosis alternating with preserved zones
TIA symptoms last for about how many hours?
- less than 24hrs
- Due to small platelet thrombi or artheroemboli
Infarction (85%) in stroke can be due to ?
1) thrombotic occlusion
- atherosclerosis of the cerebral arteries
- leads to anemic /white infarcts
2) embolic occlusion
- leads to hemorrhagic infarcts
- throboemboli from cardiac chambers
3) small-vessel disease
- related to hypertension
- hyaline atherosclerosis
- leads to lacunae infarcts/lacunae
Inflammatory process that leads to infarction include?
- Infectious vasculitis
- Polyarteritis nodosa
- Primary angitis of the CNS
Microscopic changes associated with cerebral infarction
Microscopy**:
- Red neurons (12-24hrs after injury)
- neutrophilic infiltration (24-48hrs)
- histiocytic infiltration and disappearance of neurons (2-10days)
- liquefactive necrosis, histiocytes filled with products of myelin breakdown (2-3weeks)
- fluid filled cavity, reactive astrocytes, lipid-layden macrophages (glitter cells) (3 wks- 1 month )
- Reactive gliosis (astrogliosis) - (years after)
Gross changes associated with infarction
- Little to no change in cerebrum (0 - 24hrs)
- Indistinct gray-white mater junction (24-48hrs)
- friable tissue with marked edema (2-10days)
- tissue liquefies (2-3weeks)
- fluid filled cavity demarcated by gliotic scar (3weeks to months)
- old cyst surrounded by gliotic scar (years)
What causes white infarcts and red infarcts?
Thrombosis - white infarcts (anemic infarcts)
Embolism - red infarcts ( hemorrhagic infarcts)
Lacunae Infarcts Commonly affect?
- The putamen and caudate