Intracranial carotid artery occlusion with telangiectasia (moyamoya disease) associated with persistent primitive trigeminal artery--case report

Persistent trigeminal artery in a patient with moyamoya disease:a case report and literature review

BACKGROUNDS

Persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) is a rare anastomosis between internal carotid artery (ICA) and basilar artery. In rare conditions, the PTA could be combined with others cerebrovascular anomalies, moyamoya disease (MMD) is one of them.

CASE PRESENTATION

Here, we reported one rare case of MMD associated with PTA, the patient admitted to our department for severe dizziness and headache, imaging examination suggested MMD combined with right PTA, which arising from the ipsilateral cavernous portion of ICA. The patient received phased bilaterral revascularization with no any complication. In the subsequent follow-up, the patient's symptoms and intracranial vascular condition gradually improved. Moreover, we conducted a literature review of coexistence of PTA and MMD, the results of a web of science regarding such condition, and a deep discussion providing brief insight into the status of co-occurrence of PTA and MMD, including its manifestation, treatment and outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

The coexistence of PTA and MMD was rarely reported, the pathogenesis of such condition remains unknown. We found that the features of the coexistence of PTA and MMD were diverse, revascularization might be a feasible for such patient.

Adding a chapter to the literature: A rare encounter of unilateral Moyamoya disease with ipsilateral persistent trigeminal artery

Background

The coexistence of persistent trigeminal artery (PTA) and Moyamoya disease (MMD) has been reported. If their pathogenesis is related and if PTA is protective or harmful in MMD remains unknown as these are rare cerebrovascular anomalies.

Case presentation

A 35-year-old woman with sudden global aphasia whose CT head and CT angiography of head and neck showed a hypodensity in the left posterior middle cerebral artery (MCA), a possible left proximal internal carotid artery occlusion, and a left PTA with hypoplasia of vertebral and basilar arteries. Digital subtraction angiography showed chronic MMD in the left MCA with extensive pial collateralization from anterior cerebral artery (ACA). The patient was initiated on single antiplatelet therapy and later she underwent direct bypass surgical intervention and rehabilitation.

Discussion

Our case report brings attention to the infrequent coexistence of ipsilateral MMD and PTA suggesting a potential congenital pathogenesis based on embryologic development and hemodynamics. Also, we propose a protective role of PTA in MMD in case of large anterior vessel occlusion. This case contributes to the scarce literature on the intriguing relationship between MMD and PTA.

Cerebral Arterial Variations Associated with Moyamoya Disease Diagnosed by MR Angiography

Moyamoya disease is a rare progressive cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease associated with different variations of the cerebral arteries. We evaluated the types and prevalence of such variations among patients with moyamoya disease. In our institution during the past seven years, we diagnosed 72 patients (24 male, 48 female; aged 6 to 75 years, mean, 42 years) with moyamoya disease by magnetic resonance (MR) angiography using either a 3-Tesla or one of two 1.5-T imagers and a standard time-of-flight technique without contrast media. An experienced neuroradiologist retrospectively reviewed the images. There were 15 cerebral arterial variations in 13 of 72 patients with moyamoya disease (18.1%), including four basilar artery fenestrations, three ophthalmic arteries arising from the middle meningeal artery, two intracranial vertebral artery fenestrations, two persistent first cervical intersegmental arteries, two persistent trigeminal arteries, one extracranial origin of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery, and one persistent stapedial artery. Although our number of patients was small, moyamoya disease was frequently associated with variations of the cerebral arteries, especially fenestrations in the vertebrobasilar system and persistent trigeminal artery.

Trigeminal artery: a review of normal and pathological features

OBJECTS

Carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses-the trigeminal, otic, hypoglossal, and proatlantal intersegmental arteries-serve as transitory channels between primitive internal carotid arteries and bilateral longitudinal neural arterial plexus, which is the precursor of future basilar artery, when the human embryo reaches about 4-mm length.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Normal and/or abnormal morphofunctional aspects of the prenatal and postnatal forms of the trigeminal artery are described according to personal and literature data. Many arteries of similar origin and course are also noted in the differential diagnosis of the trigeminal artery.

CONCLUSIONS

The persistent primitive trigeminal artery, as the most commonly carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomosis, has a reported incidence of 0.03-2.2% in the literature. There is female sex predilection, and it may be discovered in patients of any age, on either side, and in association with many vascular variants. Although the significance of persistent primitive trigeminal artery regarding the development of an aneurysm or association with another pathological condition may not be clear, its (ab)normal morphology is the inspiration for anatomists, especially for neurosurgeons, before planning diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.