[A case of cerebral infarction in a young adult following an abuse of cocaine and other drugs].

We reported a case of cerebral infarction in a young adult following an abuse of cocaine and other drugs. A 27-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of the abrupt onset of right hemiplegia and dysarthria. Brain CT and MRI examinations showed cerebral infarction in the region of the left caudate head and the left corona radiata. Cerebral angiography revealed total occlusion at the origin of the left middle cerebral artery, with neither vascular malformation nor atherosclerotic change. There were no obvious causes that might lead to cerebral infarction in young adults, including potential cardiac sources of embolism, abnormalities of blood coagulation, or collagen vascular diseases. From his history we learned he had started abusing cocaine and other drugs at the age of 16 years, and that he had been addicted to these drugs up to at least 2 months earlier than the onset of cerebral infarction, so we suggested his drug abuse might have affected the occurrence of cerebral infarction. We would like to emphasize that using 'drugs' should be taken into consideration as a possible cause of cerebral infarction in young adults.