Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN
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J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. · Aug 1997
Intracranial arterial dolichoectasia in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a systemic disorder with a variety of cardiovascular manifestations. This study presents a group of patients with ADPKD who had intracranial arterial dolichoectasia. One hundred seventy-eight ADPKD patients were screened with magnetic resonance angiography, 40 ADPKD patients had conventional angiography, and 98 ADPKD patients underwent a brain autopsy. ⋯ Six of the nine patients with intracranial arterial dolichoectasia had additional vascular manifestations of ADPKD. Some patients with ADPKD are at an increased risk of developing intracranial arterial dolichoectasia and dissections. Recognizing this association is important because (1) it may be a cause of stroke; (2) it may mimic a saccular aneurysm on radiographic studies; and (3) it suggests that the arteriopathy of ADPKD may be more generalized than previously believed.