Intracranial arteriosclerosis

Vascular diseases characterized by thickening and hardening of the walls of arteries inside the skull. There are three subtypes: (1) atherosclerosis with fatty deposits in the arterial intima; (2) Monckeberg's sclerosis with calcium deposits in the media and (3) arteriolosclerosis involving the small caliber arteries. Clinical signs include headache; confusion; transient blindness (amaurosis fugax); speech impairment; and hemiparesis.