Vertebral artery dissection in an infant: ultrastructural aberrations in connective tissue components.

We report on a 14-month-old boy who had acute multiple infarcts in the posterior circulation due to an extremely early onset of spontaneous vertebral artery dissection. Despite the absence of clinical signs of connective tissue disorders, an ultrastructural change of collagen fibrils and elastic fibers indicated connective tissue abnormalities. Arterial dissection should be considered as a cause of stroke during infancy.