title: From basilar artery dolichoectasia to basilar artery aneurysm: natural history in images.
abstract: Dolichoectasia is a medical term used to describe elongated and dilated vessels that follow a tortuous and windy course with frequent loops and curves. We are presenting the natural history in images of a normal basilar artery becoming dolichoectatic, followed by the formation of an aneurysm, over a period of many years, in 60-year-old Caucasian man with a long history of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and uncontrolled arterial hypertension, who was diagnosed with dolichoectasia of basilar artery in 2008. Although relatively stable at this point, eventually his mobility deteriorated and signs from the cranial nerves, such as trigeminal neuralgia and bilateral palsy of the VI and the VII nerves were added in the clinical picture. In 2014, both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed the formation of an unruptured aneurysm of the basilar artery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: takiszis@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fragkis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lykouri
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bageris
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kolovos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Angelidakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tavernarakis
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D057510:Endovascular Procedures; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Dolichoectasia; aneurysm; basilar artery; natural history