A skin disorder may be linked to a weakness in brain arteries that raises the risk of stroke.
An intracranial aneurysm is a weakness within a blood vessel in the brain which is often inherited. Without surgical repair, the aneurysm can burst, causing a brain hemorrhage (subarachnoid hemorrhage) which could be fatal.

It's not feasible to test people directly for aneurysms - for it's hard to take a sample from a brain blood vessel. But previous research has pointed to a link between mutations that cause a defect in the connective tissue of the skin and intracranial aneurysms.

Researchers at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have confirmed this connection. They found that a third of a group who had intracranial aneurysms also had a problem with connective tissue, according to a skin test. This was compared to no such defects found in a group without intracranial aneurysms. However, the researchers point out that, at present, this test is for research purposes only. It can't be used as a screening test for cerebral hemorrhage among the general population.