We hypothesized that left cerebral hemisphere infarction is more frequent than right
hemisphere infarction among young adults. Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate possible
causes for this asymmetry. Cases were found by computer search from hospital registries
at each of the 5 acute-care hospitals in a well-defined population in Hordaland County,
western Norway. Important parameters used in the analysis were derived from the patient
records. A total of 98 patients had left hemisphere infarctions, and 70 patients had
right hemisphere infarctions (P = .037). This difference was due mostly to the higher incidence of infarction in
the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory compared with the right MCA territory
among the male subjects (P = .016). Lacunar infarction was equally distributed, whereas nonlacunar infarction
was more frequent in the left MCA territory among the men (P = .016). A high frequency of left MCA infarctions may be associated with more frequent
atherosclerosis in the left carotid artery, lateralization of cortical functions,
or both in young adults.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 14,
2006
Received:
May 20,
2006
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2006.06.003
Copyright
© 2006 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
