Clinical characteristics of the patients with cavernous angiomas

Aim: Cerebral cavernous angiomas (CCAs) are a rare type of hamartoma characterized by a small sinusoidal vein without normal parenchyma. This study aimed to assess the radiological findings, clinical symptoms, and localization of CCAs and compare results with those in the literature.Material and Methods: Patients with CCA who underwent surgery between January 2012 and January 2018 were retrospectively evaluated.Results: Of the 41 patients with CCA, 24 (58.5%) were males and 17 (41.5%) were females. The patients were aged from 6 to 72 (mean: 36.75 ± 16.97) years. Moreover, 13 (31.7%), 6 (14.6%), 14 (34.1%), 4 (9.8%), and 2 (4.9%) patients presented with supratentorial lesions localized in the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and thalamic regions, respectively. Two (4.9%) patients had cavernomas in the infratentorial area that contains the pons. No pathology was observed on brain computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the control examinations.Conclusion: Surgical excision should be performed in individuals with cavernous angiomas that are symptomatic. Critically localized and asymptomatic cavernous angiomas can be monitored with MRI at regular intervals. Surgical treatment should always be considered since neurological deterioration may occur due to epileptic seizures and recurrent bleeding that do not respond to treatments.

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