Nonembolic Occlusion of the Middle Cerebral and Carotid Arteries—A Comparison of Predisposing Factors

Selected clinical characteristics of patients with nonembolic occlusion of the middle cerebral artery were compared with those of patients with atherosclerotic occlusive lesions at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery. Unexpected differences were observed in the race-age distribution, in the presence of systemic vascular disease, and in the frequency of factors predisposing to atherosclerosis. The group with intracranial arterial lesions included more Negro patients than the group with lesions in the extracranial carotid artery. Ischemic heart disease, intermittent claudication and hypercholesterolemia were more frequent among the patients with extracranial cerebrovascular lesions, but the incidence of hypertension and diabetes was the same in both groups. These findings suggest differences in the etiological and pathogenetical mechanisms of the vascular disease in patients with extracranial and intracranial cerebral arterial occlusive lesions.