National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy



Other Names:
CARASIL; Maeda syndrome; Subcortical vascular encephalopathy, progressive; CARASIL; Maeda syndrome; Subcortical vascular encephalopathy, progressive; Cerebrovascular disease with thin skin, alopecia, and disc disease See More
Categories:

Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL) is an inherited disorder in which damage to the small blood vessels in the brain leads to stroke and other impairments.[1][2][3] Individuals with CARASIL usually develop symptoms between 20 and 30 years of age.[3] Symptoms may include: muscle stiffness, personality changes, and memory loss. People with this disease may also experience dementia, hair loss (alopecia), and damage to the spinal column (spondylosis). CARASIL is caused by mutations in the HTRA1 gene. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.[1][2][3] Although there is no specific treatment or cure, there can be ways to manage the symptoms. A team of doctors is often needed to figure out the treatment options based on each person’s symptoms.
Last updated: 12/1/2017

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

Showing of 21 |
Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Nystagmus
Involuntary, rapid, rhythmic eye movements
0000639
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Abnormality of extrapyramidal motor function 0002071
Alopecia
Hair loss
0001596
Arteriosclerosis of small cerebral arteries 0004931
Ataxia 0001251
Autosomal recessive inheritance 0000007
Babinski sign 0003487
Dementia
Dementia, progressive
Progressive dementia
[ more ]
0000726
Diffuse demyelination of the cerebral white matter 0007162
Diffuse white matter abnormalities 0007204
Dysarthria
Difficulty articulating speech
0001260
Gait disturbance
Abnormal gait
Abnormal walk
Impaired gait
[ more ]
0001288
Hyperreflexia
Increased reflexes
0001347
Leukoencephalopathy 0002352
Low back pain 0003419
Progressive encephalopathy 0002448
Pseudobulbar signs 0002200
Rigidity
Muscle rigidity
0002063
Spasticity
Involuntary muscle stiffness, contraction, or spasm
0001257
Stroke 0001297
Urinary incontinence
Loss of bladder control
0000020
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

Making a diagnosis for a genetic or rare disease can often be challenging. Healthcare professionals typically look at a person’s medical history, symptoms, physical exam, and laboratory test results in order to make a diagnosis. The following resources provide information relating to diagnosis and testing for this condition. If you have questions about getting a diagnosis, you should contact a healthcare professional.

Testing Resources

  • The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) provides information about the genetic tests for this condition. The intended audience for the GTR is health care providers and researchers. Patients and consumers with specific questions about a genetic test should contact a health care provider or a genetics professional.

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources


Related diseases are conditions that have similar signs and symptoms. A health care provider may consider these conditions in the table below when making a diagnosis. Please note that the table may not include all the possible conditions related to this disease.

Conditions with similar signs and symptoms from Orphanet
Differential diagnoses include primary angiitis of the central nervous system, Binswanger disease, CADASIL, Nasu-Hakola disease, chronic progressive multiple sclerosis and adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (see these terms). As Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and Werner syndrome (see these terms) also feature premature baldness and arteriosclerosis, they must also be excluded.
Visit the Orphanet disease page for more information.

Support and advocacy groups can help you connect with other patients and families, and they can provide valuable services. Many develop patient-centered information and are the driving force behind research for better treatments and possible cures. They can direct you to research, resources, and services. Many organizations also have experts who serve as medical advisors or provide lists of doctors/clinics. Visit the group’s website or contact them to learn about the services they offer. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement by GARD.

Organizations Supporting this Disease


These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

  • Genetics Home Reference (GHR) contains information on Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. This website is maintained by the National Library of Medicine.
  • The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has a report for patients and families about this condition. NORD is a patient advocacy organization for individuals with rare diseases and the organizations that serve them.

In-Depth Information

  • GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know. Submit a new question

  • Is cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL) found in Caucasian men?  I have read descriptions of this disease that indicated it has been found in only 50 people in China and Japan. See answer



  1. Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. Genetics Home Reference (GHR). April 2011; http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/cerebral-autosomal-recessive-arteriopathy-with-subcortical-infarcts-and-leukoencephalopathy.
  2. Onodera O. CARASIL. National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). 2016; https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/carasil/.
  3. Onodera O, Nozaki H, Fukutake T. CARASIL. GeneReviews. September 11, 2014; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK32533/.