Cryptogenic Isolated Cortical Venous Infarct: A Report of Three Cases

Abstract

Cortical vein infarction without dural sinus involvement is extremely rare. Herein, we present three patients with headache, partial seizure and right-sided numbness. On neurological examination, focal neurologic deficit was not observed in our patients. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed cerebral ischemia which showed as hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images that do not follow the boundary of arterial territories, indicating cortical venous infarct. Cortical venous infarct should be suspected in patients who present with sudden onset headache and/or focal epileptic seizures even if there is no neurologic deficit. The diagnosis and treatment of cortical venous infarct should be considered as an emergency because of the high potential for full recovery with anticoagulant treatment.

Keywords

• Cortical venous infarct
• seizure
• anticoagulant treatment