title: Middle cerebral artery stenosis in patients with acute ischemic stroke and TIA in Israel.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Middle cerebral artery stenosis is not frequent but a well-established cause of first and recurrent ischemic stroke. Our aim was to investigate middle cerebral artery stenosis in the biethnic (Jewish and Arab) population of patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack in northern Israel.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population included 1344 patients from the stroke data registry who had been hospitalized in the neurologic department because of acute ischemic stroke (1041) or TIA (303) and had undergone transcranial Doppler sonographic examination during the hospitalization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1344 patients, 120 (8.9%) were found to have MCA stenosis. The patients with intracranial stenosis were older and had more vascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia) and vascular diseases (ischemic heart and peripheral vascular disease) than those without intracranial stenosis. Logistic regression analysis revealed that diabetes (P = .002) and peripheral vascular disease (P = .01), but not ethnicity, were independent and significant predictors for the presence of MCA stenosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An independent and significant correlation was found between MCA stenosis and vascular risk factors (diabetes mellitus) and vascular diseases, thus emphasizing the similarity of intracranial MCA stenosis and other vascular diseases originating from atherosclerosis. There was no influence of ethnicity on intracranial stenosis in our population.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus and Technion, Haifa, Israel. g_telman@rambam.health.gov.il.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Telman
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus and Technion, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hurani
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus and Technion, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sprecher
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus and Technion, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kouperberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology