Intracranial arterial stenosis in young adults: risk factors, diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) in youth is an under-explored condition. ICAS is one of the leading causes of stroke in young people worldwide and confers a higher risk of stroke recurrence, leading to a poor prognosis for individuals and a great burden to society. The etiology and risk factors of ICAS in youth differ from those of older patients, thus resulting in a difference in the progression and prognosis of the disease. Even though the diagnosis of ICAS is lumen-based, it is sometimes difficult to identify in young patients based on imaging alone. Notably, novel vessel wall imaging techniques play an important role in determining the cause of stenosis and screening patients at high risk of recurrence. Moreover, pharmacologic regimens and risk factor control goals for ICAS in young adults are largely consistent with those in older patients. Thus, considering the poor prognosis, there is an urgent need for high-quality studies in the young ICAS population to analyze the high-quality observational data collected.

Keywords

intracranial artery stenosis / young stroke / intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis