Cerebral proliferative angiopathy: Clinical, angiographic features and literature review

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy in pediatric age presenting as neurological disorders: A case report

BACKGROUND

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare subtype of arteriovenous malformation. It is extremely rare in pediatric patients and has serious implications for developing children. However, reports of these disorders worldwide are limited, and no uniform reference for diagnosis and treatment options exists. We report the case of a 6-year-old with CPA having predominantly neurological dysfunction and review the literature on pediatric CPA.

CASE SUMMARY

We report the case of a pediatric patient with CPA analyzed using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) who presented initially with a neurological disorder as the main manifestation. This case is the basis for further discussion of the clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of CPA in children. After the cerebral DSA, the patient was treated conservatively with sedation, fluid replacement, and blood anticoagulation. She could not cooperate with the follow-up magnetic resonance imaging examination because of her young age, and her family declined further treatment because of the surgery’s high risk. She was followed up for 3 months; her symptoms did not worsen.

CONCLUSION

This report of rare pediatric CPA can inform and advance clinical research on congenital cerebrovascular diseases.

Diffuse cerebral angiomatosis associated to basilar apex aneurysm

BACKGROUND

Diffuse cerebral angiomatosis (DCA) is a diffuse infiltration of normal brain by complex vascular structures. It differs from arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) that are composed of a nidus of vessels through which arteriovenous shunting occurs without interposed functional brain parenchyma. A rare subgroup of AVMs is diffuse with no recognizable nidus with functional neuronal tissue interspersed within the malformed vessels. We present a rare association of DCA and cerebral arterial aneurysm, which dramatically influenced the patient's prognosis.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 43-year-old male patient with right hemispheric diffuse cerebral angiomatosis presented with a ruptured basilar tip aneurysm that was successfully embolised. Unfortunately, the patient developed a locked-in syndrome.

CONCLUSION

The present report shows a possible association between diffuse cerebral angiomatosis and cerebral aneurysms, but this association appears to be less strong than it is with other AVMs.

Long-term hemodynamic changes in cerebral proliferative angiopathy presenting with intracranial hemorrhage: illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare vascular proliferative disease; however, long-term follow-up reports are scarce. The authors report a rare case and document a patient's medical history over 20 years.

OBSERVATIONS

A 5-year-old girl developed left frontal lobe hemorrhage, presenting with headache. At 8 years of age, angiography showed diffuse capillary ectasia without an arteriovenous shunt. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) showed normal cerebral blood flow (CBF). She had normal growth without systemic disease. At 25 years of age, an intraventricular hemorrhage occurred, presenting with sudden headache. Angiography revealed vascular lesion enlargement, increased feeding arteries, dural supply to the nidus and peri-nidal lesion, and flow-related aneurysm. SPECT showed remarkable decreases in CBF in the nidus and peri-nidal lesion. Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) was diagnosed, and the aneurysm arising at the lateral posterior choroidal artery caused the hemorrhage. Coil embolization of the aneurysm was performed with a flow-guide catheter and extremely soft platinum coils. New aneurysms were not noted 1.5 years after the procedure.

LESSONS

This is the first report to demonstrate hemodynamic changes in CPA on angiography and SPECT over 17 years. The development of endovascular devices has enabled the embolization of ruptured aneurysms at the peripheral cerebral artery.

Clinico-radiological features of cerebral proliferative angiopathy: A large case series from India

BACKGROUND

Based on angiographic features, a rare subgroup, different from classical brain AVMs, called cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) was suggested by Lasjaunias et al. in 1989. There are only few reports of CPA described from Asia. Liu et al. has described 5 cases of CPA from China. The objective of study was to evaluate the clinico-radiological features of patients with CPA in our cohort and to find out the differences between our study and the study by Lasjaunias and Liu et al.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed cases of CPA from March 2012 to April 2020. All radiological images of the patients with AVMs were studied and findings suggestive of CPA were identified. We found 10 patients with CPA out of 272 cases of AVM (10/272) and described the various demographic and clinico-radiological features.

RESULTS

The age of the patients with CPA in our series varied from 14 to 53 years and the mean age was 28.6 years. There was male preponderance (60%) with male to female ratio of 3:2. The most common presentation was seizure (70%). Intracranial haemorrhage was present in five patients. One patient had cerebral infarction.

CONCLUSIONS

There were substantial differences in clinico-radiological profile of patients with CPA in our cohort as compared to the study by Lasjaunias et al. and Liu et al. in form of male dominance, higher rate of ICH and seizure. In our knowledge, this is the second largest series of CPA worldwide and the first largest series in Asia.

A Proposed Algorithm for Managing Cerebral Proliferative Angiopathy

OBJECTIVE

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare disease, characterized by a large vascular nidus, diffuse angiogenesis, and intermingled normal brain tissue. Conservative treatment, endovascular intervention, indirect revascularization, and radiotherapy have been applied to treat this disease. However, some cases deteriorate even after non-conservative treatment, and there has been no standard of treatment for this disease so far. In order to build a better treatment strategy, we review literature, present our case and propose an algorithm for managing CPA.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA principle, we systemically reviewed literature discussing CPA. A case successfully managed with multi-modal treatment is also illustrated.

RESULTS

A total of 23 articles with 74 cases of CPA were found. Thirty-three patients received single-modal management. These 33 cases include 24 receiving endovascular intervention, 7 receiving indirect revascularization, and 2 receiving radiotherapy. Three of the 33 patients deteriorated clinically, and 1 expired. We present a 6-year-old boy with left hemispheric CPA receiving indirect revascularization, followed by 2 consecutive courses of stereotactic radiosurgery targeting arteriovenous shunts in the left basal ganglia and arteriovenous shunts around the olfactory groove. In the follow-up period of more than 4 years, good collateral formation, improved perilesional perfusion, CPA shrinkage, and symptom relief were all achieved.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our literature review and case, we propose an algorithm for the management of CPA and emphasize that multi-modal treatment is necessary for most CPA cases.

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy depicted by four-dimensional computed tomographic angiography: A case report

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy is a rare cerebrovascular disorder characterized by diffuse abnormal vessels with intermingled brain parenchyma fed by many arteries and draining into many veins without high-flow arteriovenous shunts, which is usually confirmed by conventional digital subtraction angiography. However, dilution of the contrast medium due to the markedly increased blood flow and volume in cerebral proliferative angiopathy leads to low-contrast angiography. We report a 53-year-old man with cerebral proliferative angiopathy who underwent CT, MR imaging, MR angiography, digital subtraction angiography and 4D-CTA. The 4D-CTA exhibited abnormal vessels without early venous filling between the atrophic brain parenchyma in higher contrast than the angiography due to high spatial and time resolution, whereas the left external carotid angiography visualized the characteristic transdural supply more clearly than the 4D-CTA due to high vascular selectivity. Therefore, novel 4D-CTA and conventional angiography plays a complementary role in the accurate diagnosis of cerebral proliferative angiopathy. Taking invasiveness into account, 4D-CTA may be advantageous for the diagnosis of cerebral proliferative angiopathy based on the characteristic imaging findings.

Cerebral Proliferative Angiopathy Presenting as Subdural Hematoma: A Case Report and Systematic Literature Review

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare cerebrovascular pathology that presents with unique clinical features due to distinct histologic, angiographic, and pathophysiologic characteristics that separate it from classical arteriovenous malformation. The disorder is characterized by uncontrolled angiogenesis in which functional brain parenchyma is interspersed with abnormal vascular channels without a distinct nidus. Common presenting symptoms include headache, seizures, and stroke-like symptoms. Hemorrhagic presentations are rare in contrast to the typical presentations of classical arteriovenous malformation. Here, we report a young woman with a history of a suspected connective tissue disorder who presented to the emergency department with worsening headaches in a delayed fashion after experiencing minor head trauma and was found to have a left-sided subdural hematoma. Angiography confirmed a diagnosis of CPA after abnormal cortical vasculature was noted during the patient's craniotomy. A systematic review of CPA cases described in the literature was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, with the findings discussed.

A rare case of cerebral proliferative angiopathy with acute cerebral infarction and facial capillary malformation

We are describing a case of a 14-year-old girl who developed acute cerebral infarction which was documented on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI). On detailed evaluation, diagnosis of cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) was made. Incidentally, she had capillary malformation on the forehead contralateral to cerebral vascular malformation. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CPA in the literature where DWI abnormality was due to acute cerebral infarction.

Removal of malformation in cerebral proliferative angiopathy: illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare vascular disorder distinct from arteriovenous malformation. Because of the disorder’s rarity, there is still a controversy on the most promising treatment method for CPA. However, several meta-analysis articles suggest indirect vascularization such as encephalo-duro-arterio-synangiosis as an effective way of treating symptoms that are medically uncontrolled.

OBSERVATIONS

The authors describe a case of an 11-year-old boy with this disease, who had epilepsy that was intractable despite conservative management. The patient recovered from his symptoms after the vascular malformation was surgically removed. This is the first reported case of surgical removal in CPA.

LESSONS

Although further investigation on the best treatment for CPA is needed, the authors believe surgical intervention may also be an effective treatment modality when a patient presents with persisting symptoms.

Neuroanatomy of cranial dural vessels: implications for subdural hematoma embolization

Adoption of middle meningeal artery embolization in the management of chronic subdural hematomas has led to a renewed interest in dural vascular anatomy. The readily identifiable major dural arteries and potential hazards associated with their embolization are well described. Less emphasized are several levels of intrinsic dural angioarchitecture, despite their more direct relationship to dural based diseases, such as subdural hematoma and dural fistula. Fortunately, microvascular aspects of dural anatomy, previously limited to ex vivo investigations, are becoming increasingly accessible to in vivo visualization, setting the stage for synthesis of the old and the new, and providing a rationale for the endovascular approach to subdural collections in particular. In contrast with traditional anatomical didactics, where descriptions advance from larger trunks to smaller pedicles, we present a strategic approach that proceeds from a fundamental understanding of the dural microvasculature and its relationship to larger vessels.

The current clinical picture of cerebral proliferative angiopathy: systematic review

BACKGROUND

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is a rare subset of arteriovenous malformations (AVM). It has unique clinical presentation, angiographic characteristics, and pathophysiology which often brings challenges for the treatment. We aimed to define its epidemiology, pathophysiology are unknown, and best management strategies.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE was searched for articles regarding CPA. Extracted data included epidemiological, clinical, and angiographical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes. Treatment was classified as conservative, radiosurgery, endovascular, decompression, and indirect vascularization. A meta-analytical approach was employed for description of the data as study-size adjusted percentages or weighted means, as appropriate.

RESULTS

Thirty-three studies were analyzed, rendering a total 95 cases-half of which came from a single study. Patients were predominantly young (mean 23 years old) and female (60.0%) presenting with headaches (44.9%), seizures (37.1%), or transient ischemic attacks (33.7%). Hemorrhage was present in 18.0%, but rebleeding rates were as high as 67%. The majority of nidus were > 6 cm (52.5%) with hemispheric extension (73.0%). Capillary angioectatic appearance (85.7%), transdural supply (62.5%), and deep venous drainage (73.0%) were also frequent features. Most patients were treated conservatively (54.4%), followed by endovascular (34.2%). Indirect vascularization and radiosurgery were attempted in five and two patients, respectively. Mean follow-up was 110.8 patient-years. Neurological status improved in 50.7%, remained stable in 40.2%, and worsened in 9.0%.

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative and endovascular treatments seem adequate interventions, despite limited evidence. Complementary techniques can be used in patients throughout disease history, according to symptom-based, individualized approach. More studies are required for choosing interventions based on reliable long-term results.

Pediatric cerebral proliferative angiopathy presenting infratentorial hemorrhage

Cerebral proliferative angiopathies (CPAs) are distinct vascular malformations with varied clinical presentations and radiological findings from arteriovenous malformations (AVM) (Lasjaunias et al. in Stroke 39(3):878-85, 2008). They usually manifest with seizures if present supratentorial, headache, and progressive neurological deficits due to steal phenomenon or rarely with hemorrhage (Lasjaunias et al. in Stroke 39(3):878-85, 2008). Most of the patients are usually young females. Pediatric cases are extremely rare, with few cases reported till now. Here we report a child who presented with cerebellar bleed and diagnosed as CPA. The child was managed medically, and there was no change in caliber of the vessels after 18 months of follow-up. A short review of cases of CPA in pediatric age group presentations and management was undertaken in this case report.

Progressive Cerebral Ischemia and Intracerebral Hemorrhage after Indirect Revascularization for a Patient with Cerebral Proliferative Angiopathy

We previously reported a patient with cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) who showed cerebral ischemia in resting and acetazolamide-stressed N-isopropyl-p-[¹²³I] iodoamphetamine single-photon emission computed tomography (¹²³I-IMP-SPECT). At onset, the patient was treated conservatively. However, during the 2 years following initial onset, his hemiparesis and aphasia had gradually aggravated and his IQ scores were markedly decreased. MRI revealed progressive vascular proliferation and brain atrophy. ¹²³I-IMP-SPECT showed more severely impaired cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reactivity over the affected hemisphere. We performed an indirect revascularization to augment CBF; however, his neurological deficits were not improved and new arteriovenous shunts via extracranial-intracranial bypass were developed, followed by an asymptomatic small intracerebral hemorrhage. There are no reports on CPA patients who have shown cerebral hemorrhage after indirect revascularization. Treatments for CPA are still challenging and controversial. Cases with severe stenosis of the proximal arteries may benefit from indirect revascularization. But indirect bypass should not be indicated for such patients without main arterial stenosis, even if they have persistent ischemia.

Cerebral revascularization in cerebral proliferative angiopathy: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is considered a discrete vascular malformation of the brain separate from classical brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). It has unique angiographic characteristics and has been hypothesized to result from chronic cortical ischemia and perinidal oligemia. Treatment with cerebral revascularization has been proposed in an attempt to disrupt regional hypoperfusion and interrupt the angiogenesis that defines CPA. A systematic review of the literature pertaining to the role of cerebral revascularization may highlight a treatment paradigm for this rare disease.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. MEDLINE and Embase were searched from inception for papers relating to CPA. Included articles were categorized according to methodology (case series or imaging study) and treatment modality (conservative, radiation, endovascular, or revascularization). A synthesis was compiled summarizing the current evidence regarding cerebral revascularization in CPA.

RESULTS

The initial search revealed 43 articles, of which 28 studies met the inclusion criteria. Nine studies were identified that described imaging findings, which suggested hemodynamic dysregulation and perinidal impairments in the cerebrovascular reserve could be identified compared to unaffected hemispheres and classical brain AVMs. Six studies including 7 patients undergoing indirect forms of cerebral revascularization were identified. Clinical and radiological outcomes following revascularization were favorable in all but one study.

CONCLUSIONS

A small body of radiological and clinical studies has emerged, suggesting that CPA is a response to perinidal oligemia. While the long-term clinical efficacy of revascularization remains unclear, early results suggest that this may be a novel treatment paradigm for patients with CPA.