In late July 2011 my wife, Bethel, was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. The discovery was coincidental to recent weakness, numbness and tingleness she would experience after strenuous activities. Bethel had plans to run the Parks Half Marathon in October, so she was training with a running group in Montgomery County. She averaged 24 miles a week with the group.
She's been dealing with intense migraines that have been worsening in the past 3 years. At times she would retreat into our dark closet until the episodes subsided. The painful headaches would last half a day to a whole day. Her PCP referred her to Dr. Debbie Lin, a Neurologist at the Neurology Center in Rockville, MD for consultation due to her stroke like symptoms. Dr. Lin performed an EEG and a brain MRI/MRA. The results of the MRI were quite shocking. It appeared her right coratid artery was almost completely occluded (blocked) and she had developed a network collateral arteries. These are signs of a very rare progressive disease called Moyamoya.
Reference: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/moyamoya/moyamoya.htm.
I was 7 months into my field assignment in Wisconsin when Bethel broke the news to me. We were referred to Johns Hopkins Hospital for a cerebral angiogram to better diagnose the disease and its severity. The angiogram was a painful experience, but it provided clear images of her brain arteries and confirmed she had Moyamoya. JH hospital's neurology team felt that she had developed sufficient collateral arteries to bypass the Moyamoya diseases artery. They recommended she continue a regiment of aspirin and verapamil to reduce the risks of blood clots and strokes. Moyamoya patients are at a very high risk of strokes due to occluded and/or restricted cerebral arteries. No treatment was offered...
She's been dealing with intense migraines that have been worsening in the past 3 years. At times she would retreat into our dark closet until the episodes subsided. The painful headaches would last half a day to a whole day. Her PCP referred her to Dr. Debbie Lin, a Neurologist at the Neurology Center in Rockville, MD for consultation due to her stroke like symptoms. Dr. Lin performed an EEG and a brain MRI/MRA. The results of the MRI were quite shocking. It appeared her right coratid artery was almost completely occluded (blocked) and she had developed a network collateral arteries. These are signs of a very rare progressive disease called Moyamoya.
Reference: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/moyamoya/moyamoya.htm.
I was 7 months into my field assignment in Wisconsin when Bethel broke the news to me. We were referred to Johns Hopkins Hospital for a cerebral angiogram to better diagnose the disease and its severity. The angiogram was a painful experience, but it provided clear images of her brain arteries and confirmed she had Moyamoya. JH hospital's neurology team felt that she had developed sufficient collateral arteries to bypass the Moyamoya diseases artery. They recommended she continue a regiment of aspirin and verapamil to reduce the risks of blood clots and strokes. Moyamoya patients are at a very high risk of strokes due to occluded and/or restricted cerebral arteries. No treatment was offered...
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