Mineralizing vasculopathy causing motor delay and silent strokes?

Abstract

Stroke in children is known to have varied causes and many newer ones continue to be identified. One such recently described entity is mineralizing vasculopathy of lenticulostriate vessels to basal ganglia. Although it is a well-known cause of infantile stroke following trivial head injury, this condition as an etiology of isolated motor delay without a prior history of stroke has not been described. We report a case of an infant with isolated unexplained motor delay who presented with hemidystonia and hemiparesis following a trivial fall. This case is unique because mineralizing vasculopathy as a cause of isolated motor delay prior to presenting as stroke has not been reported before. This case opens up the possibility of isolated motor delay following suspected silent strokes as a clinical presentation of mineralizing vasculopathy. Further studies are needed to determine whether this is a part of a spectrum including more severe clinical picture.