Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease : Pathophysiology and Treatment

Abstract

  The recurrence rate of stroke due to intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is known to be high. Surgical treatment against ICAD including intravascular surgery doesn't have enough evidence to prevent from recurrence of stroke. In Asian population, ICAD is more common than in European and American population. In this manuscript, recent knowledge about the pathophysiology and the treatment for ICAD are summarized. Especially, different diagnosis and MRI findings of arteriosclerotic ICAD and other ones are shown. In addition, surgical treatment for ICAD in our institute is described.