Background
The term of capsular warning syndrome (CWS) was first described in 1993 in patients who presented repeated stereotyped episodes of subcortical transient ischemic attacks [
1]. It is a popular notion that the syndrome is associated with a high risk of developing a completed stroke [
2,
3]. Up to date, little is known about pathogenic mechanisms and the role of atherosclerotic disease of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in CWS.
A few recent studies have confirmed the feasibility of using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR MRI) to depict the MCA wall and plaques in vivo [
4,
5]. We report two cases with typical CWS. High-resolution MRI demonstrated small atherosclerotic plaques on the ventral wall of proximal MCA, although digital and MR angiography showed no abnormalities. According to the findings of HR MRI, possible pathogenic mechanisms of CWS are discussed.
Discussion
This is the first study to date on HR MRI findings of MCA cross-section in patients with CWS. Capsular infarctions were demonstrated in the territory of a lenticulostriate artery on DWI in both 2 patients. Although cerebral vascular angiography showed no abnormalities, HR MRI disclosed atherosclerotic plaques on the ventral wall of MCA where enticulostriate arteries were arisen from. These HR MRI findings suggested that MCA atherosclerotic disease may play an important role in pathophysiology of the CWS in our cases.
The ‘capsular warning syndrome’, a term introduced by Donnan et al., denotes repetitive transient ischemia attacks causing stereotyped unilateral motor, sensory, or sensorimotor deficits that simultaneously affect the face, arm, and leg without cortical symptoms [
1]. CWS is usually associated with a high risk of capsular infarction with permanent deficits. A large population-based study of CWS has found that CWS is rare (1.5% of TIA presentations) but has a poor prognosis (7-day stroke risk of 60%) [
6]. Our two cases both had subsequent capsular strokes after several episodes of TIAs, which are consistent with previous reports.
The exact pathogenic mechanism of CWS has not been fully understood. Various mechanisms have suggested, including small vessel disease, embolism from the heart, vasospasm, peri-infarct depolarization, and, in rare instances, atherosclerotic disease of the MCA [
1,
7‐
10]. Small perforator artery disease is proposed to be the most common cause of the CWS [
1,
10,
11]. Recently, more studies suggested that intracranial atherosclerotic disease plays an important role in the development of small stratiocapsular infarct, especially in Asian [
12]. Atherosclerotic plaque of the MCA may occlude the origin of the lenticulostriate arteries resulting in hemodynamic compromise and subsequent infarct. So we suppose that artherosclerotic disease of the MCA may be an important and common pathogenic mechanism of CWS. However, based on the current traditional imaging technique, little is known about the role of atherosclerotic disease in the development of the CWS. Recently, the technique of HR MRI has been developed to depict intracranial artery wall in vivo [
4,
5]. HR MR imaging is able to image a small plaque that did not yield stenosis on MRA [
13,
14]. In our cases, eccentric small plaques on the ventral wall of proximal MCA were identified on HR MRI [
15]. Detection of these small lesions may carry clinical import because a non-stenostic plaque potentially causes ischemic symptoms via occlusion the origin of the lenticulostriate arteries. The fluctuating course of stereotyped symptoms was thought to be the result of hemodynamic compromise due to the origin occlusion. Relying on the HR MRI findings, we suggest that artherosclerotic disease of the MCA is an important pathophysiology of CWS.
Different treatment modalities, including hydration, antiplatelet agents, intravenous thrombolysis and intracranial artery angioplasty, have been proposed in patients with CWS [
1,
8,
9,
11,
16]. It remains a challenge to develop therapies that may prevent irreversible damage to occur in patients with CWS. It seems aggressive medical treatments (including dual antithrombotic agents of aspirin and clopidogrel, and statin) might be effective on prevention the recurrent stroke in our cases.
Conclusion
In summary, Our HR MRI data offer an insight into the pathophysiology of CWS which might be caused from atherosclerotic plaque in non-stenotic MCA wall. Early recognition of this clinical presentation and the accompanying stroke mechanism may guide the initial management and prognosis. Further studies using HR MRI in larger sample subjects are expected for highlighting this mechanism and guiding the acute treatment decision for CWS patients.
Open Access
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors’ contributions
LZ and JN were responsible for writing the article. MY was responsible for collecting case information. ML was responsible for collecting and analyzing imaging data. WX, BP and LC were responsible for revising the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.