Evidence for cardioembolic stroke in a case of Kearns-Sayre syndrome

Cerebral infarction is a known complication in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathies (MELAS, MERRF, Kearns-Sayre syndrome), but the etiology in the different types remains uncertain. A 33-year-old woman who had suffered from ophthalmoplegia, bilateral ptosis, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Stroke (1970) 1995-10, Vol.26 (10), p.1950-1952
Main Authors: KOSINSKI, C, MULL, M, LETHEN, H, TÖPPER, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cerebral Infarction - diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Infarction - etiology
Echocardiography, Transesophageal
Female
Heart Diseases - complications
Heart Diseases - diagnostic imaging
Hemiplegia - etiology
Humans
Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis - diagnostic imaging
Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis - etiology
Kearns-Sayre Syndrome - complications
Medical sciences
Neurology
Thrombosis - complications
Thrombosis - diagnostic imaging
Ultrasonography, Doppler
Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system
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Summary:Cerebral infarction is a known complication in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathies (MELAS, MERRF, Kearns-Sayre syndrome), but the etiology in the different types remains uncertain. A 33-year-old woman who had suffered from ophthalmoplegia, bilateral ptosis, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa, and epilepsy since childhood was diagnosed to have Kearns-Sayre syndrome. The diagnosis was confirmed by muscle biopsy when she was 17 years old. A pacemaker was implanted because of the occurrence of bradyarrhythmias when she was 24 years old. The patient was admitted to the hospital with left-sided hemiparesis of sudden onset due to right striatocapsular infarction. Results of Doppler sonography of the carotid arteries were normal; however, transesophageal echocardiography revealed a thrombus in the left atrial appendage. Stroke in Kearns-Sayre syndrome is likely to be due to cardiac embolism. Anticoagulant therapy should be considered even for mild forms of cardiomyopathies leading to left ventricular dysfunction.
ISSN:0039-2499
1524-4628
DOI:10.1161/01.STR.26.10.1950