Bithalamic acute stroke: Artery of Percheron. Clinical case

Abstract

Background. Artery of Percheron (AOP) is a variant in which a single perforating artery ensure bilateral blood supply to the paramedian thalamic nuclei and rostral midbrain and is described in 4%-12% of the population. Occlusions AOP represent 0.1-2% of total ischemic strokes, indicating that this type of stroke is quite rare. Purpose. We report a clinical case of ischemic stroke by occlusion AOP. It is necessary to know this variant of ischemia in view of differential diagnosis between deep cerebral venous thrombosis and top basilar syndrome. Material and methods. A case of 69-yearold woman, admitted to the Institute of Emergency Medicine with bilateral thalamus stroke due to Percheron artery occlusion will be discussed. Results. On admission, the patient was in a coma, tetraparesis was noted during neurological exam and NIHSS score was of 24p. Brain-Computer Tomography (CT) showed bithalamic stroke. CT angiography didn’t detect any abnormality.