Screening for MELAS mutations in young patients with stroke of undetermined origin.

Purpose: It has been suggested that mitochondrial disease may be responsible for a substantial proportion of strokes of indetermined origin. We have preliminarily screened for MELAS (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) mutations in young patients with cryptogenic strokes.

Method: The mitochondrial mutations A3243G and T3271C were investigated in 38 subjects aged less than 46 years.