Vascular smooth muscle cell-related molecules and cells

Abstract

The characteristic findings of intimal thickening and resulting steno-occlusion at the terminal portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) along with pathological changes in neighboring arteries have been enumerated in the guidelines for the diagnosis of moyamoya disease [1, 2]. Fibrocellular thickening of the intima, an irregular disruption of the internal elastic lamina, and the attenuation of the media are the main findings [1, 3]. These findings have been observed not only in the carotid fork but also in cortical branches of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) [1, 3, 4]. In perforating arteries, microaneurysm formation and fragmented elastic lamina have been detected, and these are considered to be one of the reasons for intracerebral hemorrhage [1]. Sometimes, extracranial arteries such as superior temporal arteries (STA) and renal arteries have also been shown to be affected by the same stenotic changes, so that moyamoya disease can be considered to be a kind of systemic diseases [5]. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Tokyo.