Computational analysis of the hemodynamics in cerebral arteries related to Moyamoya disease

Abstract

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is characterized by bilateral intimal thickening of distal internal carotid arteries (ICA) and development of many collateral vessels in the base of the brain. Although the origin of MMD and the reason why it is limited to the major vessels remain unclear, it is believed that flow dynamics such as shear stress may be related to its smooth muscle cell migration. This study was performed to find out the local hemodynamic factor which concerns predominance of specific anatomic site such as distal internal carotid artery(ICA) and posterior cerebral artery (PCA) in progressed stages. We simulated the hemodynamics in cerebral arteries in circle of Willis using the computational models in two dimensional geometries of distal ICA and PCA. A finite element package, ADINA, was used to simulate the blood flow in these arteries. Numerical results showed that shear stress is relatively low at the ICA region. It was demonstrated that the shear stress distribution was related to the moyamoya disease.