Double origin of the superior cerebellar artery associated with homolateral haemorrhagic infarction of cerebellum

Abstract

The superior cerebellar artery (SCA) shows the least variable course and the lowest incidence of anatomical variations among cerebellar arteries. In the present study, an 84-year-old woman was affected by a cerebellar infarction which underwent haemorrhagic evolution in the following days. Neuroimaging investigations also showed a probable double origin of the left SCA. Neuropathological examination confirmed the presence of a large haemorrhagic infarction at the level of the superior portion of the left cerebellar hemisphere and vermis. The left SCA arose from two small arteries arising from the left aspect of the basilar artery and joining together after a course of 9 mm. Previous studies have reported the association of cerebrovascular pathologies, such as intracranial aneurysms, with fenestrations and double origins of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. In the present case, the occurrence of an haemorrhagic infarction in the vascular field of an SCA with double origin is intriguing in suggesting a possible pathophysiological association.

Keywords

• superior cerebellar artery
• cerebellum
• anatomical variation
• stroke
• xanthogranuloma
• fenestration
• angio­graphy
• magnetic resonance
• computed tomography
• neuroimaging