RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Intracranial Arteries in Individuals with the Elastin Gene Hemideletion of Williams Syndrome
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 90
OP 94
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A3641
VO 35
IS 1
A1 D.P. Wint
A1 J.A. Butman
A1 J.C. Masdeu
A1 A. Meyer-Lindenberg
A1 C.B. Mervis
A1 D. Sarpal
A1 C.A. Morris
A1 K.F. Berman
YR 2014
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/35/1/90.abstract
AB BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder with a striking neurobehavioral profile characterized by extreme sociability and impaired visuospatial construction abilities, is caused by a hemideletion that includes the elastin gene, resulting in frequent supravavular aortic stenosis and other stenotic arterial lesions. Strokes have been reported in Williams syndrome. Although the extracranial carotid artery has been studied in a sample of patients with Williams syndrome, proximal intracranial arteries have not. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using MRA, we studied the intracranial vessels in 27 participants: 14 patients with Williams syndrome (age range, 18–44 years; mean age, 27.3 ± 9.1; 43% women) and 13 healthy control participants with similar age and sex distribution (age range, 22–52 years; mean age, 33.4 ± 7.6; 46% women). All participants with Williams syndrome had hemideletions of the elastin gene. Blinded to group allocation or to any other clinical data, a neuroradiologist determined the presence of intracranial vascular changes in the 2 groups. RESULTS: The Williams syndrome group and the healthy control group had similar patency of the proximal intracranial arteries, including the internal carotid and vertebral arteries; basilar artery; and stem and proximal branches of the anterior cerebral artery, MCA, and posterior cerebral arteries. The postcommunicating segment of the anterior cerebral artery was longer in the Williams syndrome group. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the elastin haploinsufficiency, the proximal intracranial arteries in Williams syndrome preserve normal patency. ACAanterior cerebral arterySVASsupravalvular aortic stenosisSVPSsupravalvular pulmonic stenosis