Moyamoya Disease in a Middle-Aged Hispanic Woman: A Case Illustration

Abstract

Moyamoya disease is a rare cerebrovascular disease of unknown etiology, once known to be rare in the United States as compared to East-Asian countries, it is now an increasingly recognized cause of strokes in the United States, as the prevalence of the disease appears to be increasing. We describe a case of a 41-year-old Hispanic female patient presenting to our hospital with a stroke. She had two episodes of right arm weakness and clumsiness prior to presentation to the hospital that had resolved upon arrival. Despite a CT head negative for stroke, further imaging work-up was performed including MRI of the brain with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and conventional angiogram, which showed characteristic imaging findings leading to the diagnosis of Moyamoya disease. The patient subsequently underwent elective surgical intervention with Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) procedure to prevent further complications.