[Fibromuscular dysplasia of the cervicocephalic arteries. Report of two cases and review of the literature (author's transl)].

Two typical cases of fibromuscular dysplasia of the cervicocephalic arteries in two women of 61 and 48 years of age are reported. The angiograms revealed bilateral affectation of the internal carotid artery and of the right vertebral artery in one case, and of both vertebral and renal arteries in the other. The patients presented neurological symptoms corresponding to ischemia of the vertebro-basilar territory. The first case was treated with anti-platelet aggregates with positive results. An extensive review of 70 similar published cases is presented. Several characteristics are studied such as: age, sex, localization, symptoms, clinical course and treatment. The quantitative evaluation of these factors agrees with those of other reviews carried out by some other authors. Fibromuscular dysplasia is an arteriopathy of unknown etiology which has a predominant incidence among middle age females (83 percent approximately). The disease usually involves the renal arteries and the cervical segment (adjacent to C1-C2 interspace) of the carotid arteries. There was an association with single or multiple intracranial aneurisms in 22.86 percent of the cases. Vertebral arteries were affected in 28.57 percent of the cases, although vertebral angiograms were not performed in 35.7 percent of them. Transient episodes of cerebral ischemia is the most frequent clinical manifestation (42.85 percent of the cases.).