Vasodilatation of multiple cerebral arteries in early stage of stroke-like episode with MELAS

Abstract We describe a patient with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS), with multiple cerebral vasodilatations in a stroke-like episode visualised by using magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and CT angiography (CTA). In the acute stroke-like episode stage, T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI showed high-intensity areas in the left occipital area. In addition, MRA and CTA revealed prominent dilatation of the left posterior cerebral artery and temporal branches of the middle cerebral artery with focal hyperperfusions using CT perfusion (CTP) that corresponded to the MRI. After 10 days, with the development of aphasia, MRI indicated the lesions had spread to the temporal and parietal regions, and this distribution was not confined to major vascular territories. The patient’s symptoms gradually improved, accompanied by the attenuation of MRI, CTA, and CTP findings. These characteristic features along with the MRI changes that spread beyond vascular boundaries and the multiple cerebral vasodilatations prior to the development of clinical symptoms are not fully explained by the mitochondrial angiopathy or cytopathy theories. These findings provide further evidence supporting neuronal hyperexcitability in stroke-like episodes of MELAS.