Title

A case of takayasu arteritis presenting with multiple cerebral infarcts: Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges

Authors

Saifullah Syed¹, Devishi Sarin², Waqas Ahmed³, Syeda Zainab Hassan⁴, Sami Mehyar⁵, Ankita Vaghani⁶ & Muhammad Subhan⁷,*

Affiliation

¹Department of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; ²Department of Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; ³Department of Medicine, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, Chorley, England; ⁴Department of Medicine, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan; ⁵Department of Medicine, MISR University for Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt; ⁶Department of Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vaghani Hospital and Maternity home- Cardiac and Diabetes center, Surat, India; ⁷Department of Medicine, Jinnah hospital Lahore, Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan; *Corresponding author

Email

Saifullah Syed - E-mail: syeds@tcd.ie
Devishi Sarin - E-mail: devishisarin2000@gmail.com
Waqas Ahmed - E-mail: dr.wikki@yahoo.com
Syeda Zainab Hassan - E-mail: zainabhassan64@gmail.com
Sami Mehyar - E-mail: sami.mihyar1@gmail.com
Ankita Vaghani - E-mail: ankitavaghani8084@gmail.com
Muhammad Subhan - E-mail: muhammadsubhan1998@gmail.com

Article Type

Views

Date

Received January 1, 2026; Revised January 31, 2026; Accepted January 31, 2026, Published January 31, 2026

Abstract

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare chronic granulomatous vasculitis affecting the aorta and its major branches, with neurological complications such as multiple cerebral infarcts being unusual but potentially disabling. We describe the case of a 49-year-old male chronic smoker who presented with acute lower-limb paralysis. Initial evaluation resulted in misdiagnosis, delaying definitive management. Neuroimaging revealed infarcts in the distal anterior cerebral artery and left posterior cerebral artery territories, while digital subtraction angiography demonstrated critical occlusions and stenoses of the carotid and vertebral arteries, confirming TA. The patient received corticosteroids, anticoagulants, and intensive physiotherapy, leading to significant neurological recovery. Thus, we show the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for TA in middle-aged patients with unexplained multiple cerebral infarcts and absent peripheral pulses. Early vascular imaging, prompt initiation of immunosuppressive therapy, and a multidisciplinary treatment approach are essential to improve outcomes and reduce long-term disability in such rare but high-risk presentations.

Keywords

cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), digital subtraction angiography, giant cell arteritis (GCA), ischemic stroke, large-vessel vasculitis, MRI, multiple cerebral infarcts, smoking, smoking tobacco, takayasu arteritis

Citation

Syed et al. Bioinformation 22(1): 71-76 (2026)

Edited by

Ritik Kashwani

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.