Pathology of Cerebro-Vascular Disease Flashcards
What are the major blood vessels of the brain?
Right and left internal carotid arteries
Right and left vertebral arteries
Basilar artery
Right and left anterior cerebral arteries
Right and left middle cerebral arteries
Right and Left posterior cerebral arteries
Anterior communicating artery
Right and left posterior communicating arteries
What does the right middle cerebral artery supply?
Left body strength
Left body sensation
What does the left middle cerebral artery supply?
Right body strength
Right body sensation
Language
What does the right posterior cerebral artery supply?
Perception of the left visual field
What does the left posterior cerebral artery supply?
Perception of the right visual field
What is the cerebellum supplied by (Arteries)?
Posterior inferior, anterior inferior and superior cerebellar arteries
Presentation of brain aneurysm
Severe headache
Vomiting
Extremely sudden presentation
Possible coma
Investigation of brain aneurysm
Unenhanced CT
LP
What does LP stand for?
Lumbar puncture
Where do most intracranial aneurysms arise from?
Branch points of the circle of willis
Treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysm
Endovascular coil embolisation
Surgical clipping
Prevalence of aneurysms
2%
Complications of intracranial aneurysm
Hydrocephalus
Vasospastic infarcts
Disability
Lobes of the brain
Frontal
Parietal
Temporal
Occipital
Do the veins of the brain accompany the arteries?
No
Definition of stroke
Focal neurological deficit (loss of function affecting a specific region of the CNS) due to disruption of blood supply
Pathological mechanism of stroke
Interruption of supply of O2 and nutrients, causing damage to brain tissue
Causes of interruption to supply of oxygen to brain causing stroke
Vessel wall abnormality - atheroma - vasculitis - outside pressure Blood flow - decreased - increased BP Blood constitutents - thrombosis of arteries and rarely veins - bleeding due to anticoagulation, reduced platelets and clotting factors
3 main causes of localized interrupted blood supply
- ATHEROMA AND THROMBOSIS of the artery causing ischaemia
- THROMBOEMBOLISM causing ischaemia
- RUPTURED ANEURYSM of a cerebral vessel causing haemorrhage
Internal carotid artery thrombosis typically causes ischaemia where?
Middle cerebral artery territory
Definition of ischaemia
A relative or absolute lack of blood supply in a tissue or an organ
What does TIA stand for?
Transient ischaemic attack
What is the viability of the tissues in a TIA?
Still viable tissues
What is the viability of the tissues in a stroke?
Infarcted tissue
Pathogenesis of ischaeimc stroke
Brain very sensitive to oxygen ischaemia
A few minutes hypoxia or anoxia will cause brain ischaemia
Can lead to infarction
What is a localized area of brain death called?
Regional cerebral infarct
Histology of infarcted brain tissue
Loss of neurones
Foamy macrophages
Repair process leading to gliosis
What is gliosis the CNS equivalent of?
Fibrosis
What two factors can cause an aneurysm to form?
Weakening of wall
HTN
2 common sites of ruptured vessels causing haemorrhagic stroke
Basal ganglia
- microaneurysms form in HTN patients
Circle of willis
- berry aneurysms form in HTN patients
Causes of generalised problem with blood supply or hypoxia affecting the brain
- Low O2 in blood
- CO poisoning
- near drowning
- resp arrest e.g. pneumonia - Inadequate supply of blood (blood flow not occurring)
- cardiac arrest with immediate resolution
- Hypotension
- brain swelling e.g. trauma due to compressed vessels - Inability to use O2 (RARE)
- e.g. cyanide poisoning
What are watershed zones?
Areas of the brain that are poorly perfused
What % of strokes occur in patients over 65 y/o?
75%
Two types of stroke
Ischaemic
Haemorrhagic
Causes of ischaemic stroke
Large artery atherosclerosis (35%) Cardioembolic e.g. AF (25%) Small artery occlusion e.g. lacune (25%) Undetermined/cryptogenic (10-15%) Rare causes (<5%) - arterial dissection - venous sinus thrombosis
What % of strokes are ischaemic?
85%
What % of strokes are haemorrhagic?
15%
Types of haemorrhagic stroke
Primary intracerebral haemorrhage 70%
Secondary haemorrhage 30%
- SAH
- AV malformation
Stoke risk increases with what?
Age
What is the public awareness campaign for stroke?
FAST
- Facial weakness
- Arm weakness
- Speech problems
- Time to call 999
Risk factors for stroke
HTN Smoking DM Cholesterol Diet Activity High BMI / Sedentary lifestyle Alcohol Previous stroke Older Male Family history Impaired cardiac function - recent heart attack - AF Oral contraceptives (with oestrogen) HRT Hypercoagulable states - malignancy - genetic
What is the most important modifiable risk factor for stroke?
HTN
Where does HTN tend to cause the damage in stroke?
Small end arteries in the basal ganglia and brain stem
Why does increased serum lipid levels lead to increased risk of stroke?
Blood vessel wall atheroma
Increased plasma level of low density lipoprotein (LDL) results in excessive amounts of LDL within the arterial wall
What contributes to LDL-C deposition in arterial walls?
HTN
Smoking
DM
What colour is brain tissue on CT?
Black
What colour is CSF on CT?
Black
What colour on bone on CT?
White
Which of MRI and CT is easier to pick up smaller strokes?
MRI
What arteries make up the anterior circulation to the brain?
2 internal carotid arteries
- 2X ACA
- 2 MCA