MOYA MOYA and more.......

One the rarest forms of occlusive cerebrovascular disorders encountered in neurosurgery is Moyamoya disease. Fragile blood vessels proliferate around a blocked artery in an attempt to bypass an occlusion and their appearance on a cerebral angiogram resembles a "puff of smoke" or "moyamoya," a term coined by a Japanese team who first described the disease. It can affect both children and adults usually with symptoms of TIAs, strokes, headaches and seizures. There is currently no drug treatment that is effective for moyamoya disease and surgery is aimed at bypassing the blockage with another artery to restore normal blood flow...... (here are some pics of an idea of what MOYAMOYA does to your brain and how it effects those of us with it)

Typical symptoms are:

• Strokes (sustained weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, difficulty speaking, visual abnormalities or problems walking)
• Transient ischemic attacks, or TIA's (temporary stroke-like symptoms that don't last long)
• Headaches
• Progressive cognitive or learning impairment

Children also often experience temporary weakness in one or more of their extremities during strenuous physical activity or when crying. Adults can also present with brain hemorrhage (from the fragile moyamoya vessels or from aneurysms) causing neurologic symptoms in addition to nonhemorrhagic strokes, TIA's and headaches.

Moyamoya sometimes occurs along with other disorders such as Down Syndrome, brain AVM's (arteriovenous malformations), neurofibromatosis, sickle cell disease and prior radiation for brain tumors.

and though it normally effects asians studies have shown other ethnic groups are affected and it seems to effect women more than men....



Moyamoya disease is a rare blood vessel (vascular) disorder in which a ring of blood vessels at the base of your brain (the circle of Willis) progressively narrows, causing blood flow to your brain to become blocked. The condition may cause a ministroke (transient ischemic attack), stroke or other symptoms.
Moyamoya disease mainly affects children, but adults also may have the condition. Moyamoya disease usually occurs in people from Japan and other Asian countries, but people in the United States, Europe, Australia and Africa also have been diagnosed with Moyamoya disease.


TIA::::

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is like a stroke, producing similar symptoms, but usually lasting only a few minutes and causing no permanent damage. Often called a mini stroke, a transient ischemic attack may be a warning. About 1 in 3 people who have a transient ischemic attack eventually has a stroke, with about half occurring within a year after the transient ischemic attack.
A transient ischemic attack can serve as both a warning and an opportunity — a warning of an impending stroke and an opportunity to take steps to prevent it.

Transient ischemic attacks usually last a few minutes. Most signs and symptoms disappear within an hour. The signs and symptoms of TIA resemble those found early in a stroke and may include:

• Sudden weakness, numbness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg, typically on one side of your body
• Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others
• Sudden blindness in one or both eyes or double vision
• Dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

You may have more than one TIA, and the recurrent signs and symptoms may be similar or different depending on which area of the brain is involved. If signs and symptoms last longer than 24 hours or cause lasting brain damage, it's considered a stroke.
When to see a doctorSeek immediate medical attention if you suspect you've had a transient ischemic attack. Prompt evaluation and identification of potentially treatable conditions may help you prevent a stroke.