title: Four cases of vertebrobasilar insufficiency.
abstract: Four cases of vertebrobasilar insufficiency are reported. Case 1 was a 38-year-old man who felt a sudden onset of dizziness when he turned his head to the back. An abnormal positional nystagmus was observed when he rotated his head to the left. A magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) demonstrated total occlusion of the left vertebral artery (VA). Case 2 was a 31-year-old woman who had a total occlusion of her left VA as observed in the MRA. Case 3 was a 68-year-old man who noted dizziness. The systolic blood pressure change on his Schellong test was 28 mmHg. On his MRA, severe displacement of the basilar and the vertebral arteries was visible. Case 4 was a 76-year-old woman who noted a blackout-like sensation. Optokinetic nystagmus was noted with a hyponystagmus pattern, and an eye tracking test showed a saccadic pattern. On her MRA, the vertebrobasilar system was narrowed. The arterial architecture and any stenosis of the blood vessels could be detected non-invasively by MRA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nissei Hospital, Osaka, Japan. hinui@fb3.so-net.or.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inui
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitaoku
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakane
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohue
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyahara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology