Moyamoya disease. Posterior cerebral artery occlusion and pattern-reversal visual-evoked potential
S. Tashima-Kurita, T. Matsushima, M. Kato, T. Morioka, Y. Kuwabara, K. Hasuo and M. Fukui
Department of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Although vascular abnormality in moyamoya disease predominates in the
anterior and middle cerebral arteries, the posterior cerebral artery (PCA)
has been found to be involved in the course of the disease. To explore PCA
occlusion by noninvasive means, we studied visual-evoked potentials in the
patients with PCA occlusion (occlusive group), as well as in those without
PCA occlusion (nonocclusive group). The results were compared with those of
other examinations that also detected an occipital lobe pathologic
condition. Abnormalities of those examinations were highly specific to PCA
occlusion. Positron emission tomography and pattern-reversal visual-evoked
potentials yielded high incidence of abnormality in the occlusive group
(86% and 75%, respectively), and expressed the side of PCA occlusion if the
occlusion was unilateral. Since pattern-reversal visual-evoked potentials
is popular and a low-cost examination compared with positron emission
tomography, we conclude that pattern-reversal visual-evoked potentials is
the most practical mean to explore PCA occlusion in the course of moyamoya
disease.