BrainBlog by Massachusetts Avenue Neuroscience

A Rare Buff of Smoke Threatens Stroke

Moyamoya disease, an extremely rare disease (one in two million in USA) causing a progressive narrowing of the internal carotid arteries carrying blood to the brain and often resulting in disabling strokes can be successfully treated by a Stanford University neurosurgeon.  The disease was first characterized in Japan where moyamoya means puff of smoke and is characterized by a wispy cloud of narrowing blood vessels appearing on X-ray images.  The key to successful outcomes is knowing to look for this diagnosis in patients exhibiting otherwise unexplainable symptoms; unexplainable strokes, temporary speech or vision problems, headaches, mental decline, seizures, or attacks of limb numbness and weakness.  Most patients are diagnosed as children from 5 to 15, or adults from 30 to 40, and nearly two-thirds are female.

New York Times . Moyamoya.com internet support

First genomic-based test to predict stroke from ruptured brain aneurysm

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a genetic marker that may pave the way for a fast, inexpensive blood test to predict one type of deadly stroke that strikes 30,000 people in the United States annually.

Medical News Today