[A case of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) in which lomerizine hydrochloride was suggested to prevent recurrent stroke].

A 60-year-old man visited our hospital because of left hemiparesis in September 2006. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a high-intensity lesions in the right corona radiata on diffusion-weighted images and a high-intensity lesions in the basal ganglia and deep white matter on T2-weighted images. He recovered with no sequelae. Antithrombotic agents such as aspirin were given to prevent stroke, but stroke recurred three times over the course of 3 years. In February 2009, neurological examination revealed right hemiparalysis and dysarthria. Dysphagia and cognitive decline had been progressing gradually. We suspected cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) on the basis of the clinical and family history. An Arg75Pro mutation in the Notch3 gene was found, but did not involve a cysteine residue. Antithrombotic agents were ineffective. We tried lomerizine hydrochloride, which was reported to prevent stroke in a patient with CADASIL. In Japan, lomerizine hydrochloride is used to prevent migraine and to selectively inhibit cerebral artery contraction. During treatment with lomerizine hydrochloride (5 mg/day) for more than 3 years, there was no recurrence of cerebral infarction and no further deterioration of cognitive function or MRI findings. There is no evidence supporting the efficacy of antithrombotic agents in CADASIL patients. Moreover, antithrombotic agents have been reported to increase the frequency of clinically silent microbleeds on MRI in CADASIL. Lomerizine hydrochloride might therefore be one option for the treatment of CADASIL.