Are lacunar infarcts serious?

Lacunar infarcts, small deep infarcts that result from occlusion of a penetrating artery, account for about a quarter of all ischaemic strokes. These infarcts have commonly been regarded as benign vascular lesions with a favourable long-term prognosis.

What is the treatment for lacunar infarct?

If you have had a lacunar stroke, your doctor may recommend a daily aspirin or other blood-thinning medication, such as ticlopidine (Ticlid) or clopidogrel (Plavix). These medicines may reduce your risk, but their benefit has been more obvious for stroke types other than lacunar strokes.

What does lacunar infarcts mean?

Lacunar infarcts are small (2 to 15 mm in diameter) noncortical infarcts caused by occlusion of a single penetrating branch of a large cerebral artery [1,2]. These branches arise at acute angles from the large arteries of the circle of Willis, stem of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), or the basilar artery.

What are the symptoms of a lacunar infarct?

The infarct of this lacunar syndrome is usually in the thalamus. Symptoms consist of persistent or transient numbness and/or tingling on one side of the body (eg, face, arm, leg, trunk). Occasionally, patients complain of pain or burning, or of another unpleasant sensation. Unilateral sensory loss is observed.

How long does a lacunar infarct last?

It occurs when part of the brain experiences a temporary lack of blood flow. This causes stroke-like symptoms that resolve within 24 hours.

Can lacunar cause dementia?

Conclusions: Patients with lacunar infarcts suffer from dementia 4-12 times more frequently than the normal population. Cerebral atrophy and recurrent stroke, as well as other as-yet unclarified factors, are involved in producing dementia.

Is a lacunar infarct a stroke?

Lacunar infarct was defined as an acute stroke syndrome with a CT lesion compatible with the occlusion of a single perforating artery, consisting of a subcortical (basal ganglia, internal capsule, brainstem), small, sharply demarcated hypodense lesion with a diameter <15 mm.

Can a lacunar infarct cause dizziness?

The most common transient symptoms of TSI were isolated dizziness/vertigo (30.9%) and headache/migraine (28.4%).

Can a lacunar infarct cause vertigo?

8–10 Duration of symptoms can be from minutes to hours (generally <24 hours), although some may be recurrent or continuous for a few days. Dizziness/vertigo is also a common cerebrovascular symptom.

Can lacunar cause memory loss?

It was concluded that cognitive impairment after acute lacunar infarct is quite common and recent memory is the most often impaired cognitive domain. This may have been caused by the location of the specific lesion as well as by the impairment in “attention or concentration” or “abstraction and judgment”.

What is Multifarct dementia?

Multi-infarct dementia is characterized clinically by a progressive stepwise impairment in cognitive functions accompanied by focal neurological symptoms and signs. Unlike AD, memory loss is not usually predominant over other cognitive impairments.

Do lacunar infarcts cause dementia?

Is it possible to treat lacunar infarct?

At this time, there is no specific medical treatment for lacunar infarct. Treatment can include taking measures to prevent another from happening and physical rehabilitation. Your physician may give you intravenous or oral clot-busting medication. While in the hospital, you may need help with your heart function and breathing.

What is the difference between cerebral infarction and stroke?

A: By definition, infarction refers to death of tissue. A cerebral infarction, which is also called stroke, is a brain lesion in which cluster of brain cells die when they don’t get enough blood.

What are the symptoms of cerebral infarction?

A: There are a lot of symptoms of cerebral infarction, including the sudden loss of sensation on one side of the body, altered sensations on one side of the body, difficulty in speaking or understanding speech, and sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of the body.

Is lacunar infarct a stroke?

Lacunar stroke or lacunar infarct ( LACI) is the most common type of ischaemic stroke, and results from the occlusion of small penetrating arteries that provide blood to the brain’s deep structures. Patients who present with symptoms of a lacunar stroke, but who have not yet had diagnostic imaging performed,…