DIAGNOSIS OF MULTITOPIC ISCHEMIC LESIONS IN THE VERTEBROBASILAR CIRCULATION

Clinicotopographic correlation of symptoms and signs in patients with suspected ischemia within the vertebrobasilar territory is often diffi cult. Even within the anatomically very complex brain stem a unifocal lesion might not be able to explain all symptoms. Instead, multitopic ischemic lesions might be the cause of the complex clinical picture. D etailed clinical examination, electrophysiological brain stem testing, vascular studies and imaging techniques can complement each other in evaluation of functional and morphological multifocal ischemic brain s tem disease. The underlying vascular pathology could be different in u nifocal or multitopic ischemic lesions and might have impact on therap y and prognosis.