Cerebral collateral circulation in acute stroke with occlusive internal carotid artery disease

Abstract

Acute brain infarction due to carotid artery occlusion has been associated with poor outcome in the absence of cerebral collaterals. The incipient development of collaterals does not guarantee their persistence while available data are strongly indicative that good collateral flow is key in cerebral perfusion, and in reducing infarct size, this knowledge has resulted in only limited therapeutic applications.