Intracerebral Stealing Phenomenon

The phenomenon of intracerebral stealing

Intracerebral steal phenomenon (also known as the Robin Hood phenomenon) is a pathological process that can be observed in ischemic stroke. It is as follows:

1. There is an outflow of blood from the vascular basins not affected by ischemia into the occluded vessel basin. This leads to insufficient blood supply in the areas of the “robbed” vessels.

2. When drugs that dilate blood vessels are administered, ischemia in the area of ​​blockage may increase due to the redistribution of blood flow to unaffected areas of the brain.

Thus, the intracerebral steal phenomenon aggravates ischemic brain damage. This is an important pathophysiological mechanism that must be considered in the treatment of stroke. Monitoring the redistribution of cerebral blood flow will optimize therapy and reduce the risk of complications.

The brain steal phenomenon is a special type of pathology in which brain tissue suffers from a lack of blood supply. This can occur when central arterial and venous flow is blocked or narrowed, resulting in decreased blood flow to the brain area. The peculiarity of this phenomenon is that during this process blood is removed from one pool and enters another, increasing ischemia. For example, blood flow to the right hemisphere of the brain is reduced due to a blocked artery, and blood flow to the left hemisphere is increased due to the blood steal effect. At the same time, the nature of the work of the right and left hemispheres of the brain changes, which can cause various problems, such as headaches, dizziness, memory loss, etc. It is also worth noting that the phenomenon of stolen blood in the brain is not always regarded as a pathological condition. In some cases, this phenomenon is considered a physiological phenomenon that occurs in response to various factors, for example, changes in arterial blood pressure.