There is often difficulty in the clinical diagnosis of disorders of the vascular territory of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) which frequently associated with inner ear and brain stem disorders.
Three cases of AICA disease are reported and the characteristics of these disorders are discussed.
1) Many anatomical variations have been detected in the AICA. Therefore, no typical AICA syndrome can be demonstrated in many instances.
2) A large number of patients with vascular disorders of the AICA, especially those with infarction do not have signs or symptoms of cerebellar dysfunction.
3) The AICA is a vital artery of the inner ear. Therefore, the disorders of the AICA are often related to inner ear disease.
4) It is unusual that we get obvious findings of vascular disorders in VAG examinations and CT scan examinations show many artifacts in territory of the AICA. Therefore, niether examination is very useful in the diagnosis of such disorders.