Acute capsular infarction. Location of the lesions and the clinical features.

Sixty-three patients with lacunar-type of acute capsular infarction were treated in our service during the last 2 years. Their lesions were identified by computed tomography (CT) and classified into six types according to their locations: anterior, lateral, posterior, superior, inferior and multiple. The lesions were thought to be in the watershed areas of the regional arterial supplies, and the areas were considered to be prone to ischemia. The clinical course of each type showed characteristic features of ischemic strokes. In the majority of the patients with the lateral type, reversible ischemic neurological deficit (RIND) was seen as the predominant symptom, transient ischemic attack (TIA) was noted in the patients with the superior type, and major completed stroke was observed in those with posterior type.