title: Spontaneous basilar artery dissection.
abstract: Dissection of the basilar artery is rare. We report a 51-year-old man who developed acute pontine infarction associated with dissection of the distal basilar artery. There was no trauma or unaccustomed movement of the head and neck prior to the stroke. The dissection was diagnosed non-invasively by magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. Cervicocerebral artery dissection is a common cause of stroke in young patients particularly when conventional cardiovascular risk factors are absent. Magnetic resonance angiography combined with magnetic resonance imaging is a useful diagnostic tool prior to invasive angiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Soo
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001488:Basilar Artery; D020526:Brain Stem Infarctions / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants