Spontaneous Resolution of a Ruptured Dissecting PICA Aneurysm

Spontaneous dissecting aneurysms (SDAs) seldom involve the intradural vertebral artery VA, the posterior cerebral, basilar or postero inferior cerebellar arteries (PICAs), where they produce subarachnoid haemorrhage and/or ischaemia.

These lesions may develop spontaneously or occasionally after minor trauma and occur in young people in whom there is no underlying abnormality to explain the appearance of the dissection in most cases.

Spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of the PICA is rare and its natural history is not well understood. Surgery or endovascular treatment for PICA dissection remain controversial because they suggest vessel occlusion. Only in a few cases is the bypass between the occipital artery and the PICA possible with trapping of the dissected segment. Reinforcement of the arterial wall does not seem efficient and the surgical approach per se with sole exclusion of the aneurysm may be disastrous.

We describe two cases of SDA of PICA that presented with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), treated conservatively, with spontaneous cure of the lesions, angiographically confirmed at mid-time follow-up of five and four months. These favourable spontaneous thromboses, like 11 other similar case reported in the literature, did not show any rebleed. The possibility of a benign clinical course of this lesion exists; clinical and angiographic management of the patient before a decision for a aggressive treatment is proposed.

Anatomoclinical Aspects of Dural Arteriovenous Shunts in Children

We review 29 children (presenting between 1985–1996) with dural arteriovenous shunts. By analysing the anatomical features from axial and angiographic imaging and examining the clinical history and pathophysiological characteristics, we hypothesize that different diseases can be distinguished and divided into three groups: dural sinus malformation (DSM), infantile type of dural arteriovenous shunts (IDAVS) and adult type of dural arteriovenous shunts (ADAVS). It was helpful to classify these diseases when assessing the treatment options and long-term prognosis.

Our group of 29 children comprised 19 DSM, 7 IDAVS, 3 ADAVS. A slight male preponderance was noted in the DSM group.

The range of symptoms encountered included mild cardiac failure and coagulopathies, macro-crania, developmental delay, mental retardation, seizures and focal neurological deficits (in the neonates and early infancy age group) with or without haemorrhagic venous infarctions secondary to venous outlet restriction.

We found all types of lesion in the neonatal age group, but in general the different types of lesion correspond to the paediatric subgroups with DSM occurring in the neonatal age group, IDAVS in infancy and ADAVS in children.

DSMs are revealed in the first few months of live and the prognosis is good if the torcular is not involved. Two types can be seen:

1) DSM involving the posterior sinus with or without the confluens sinusum, with giant dural lakes and slow flow mural AV shunting. Spontaneous thrombosis may further restrict cerebral venous drainage and subsequently lead to intraparenchymatous haemorrhagic infarction.

2) DSM involving the jugular bulb with otherwise normal sinuses but associated with a high flow sigmoïd sinus AVF. The prognosis is excellent with embolisation treament.

IDAVS are high flow and low pressure. The sinuses are large and patent with no lakes. Clinical onset is seen in the first few years of life and the shunts are initially well tolerated. Progressive symptoms (symptoms of raised ICP and venous ischaemia) develop at a later age and initially respond to partial embolisation. The long term prognosis is poor with neurological deterioration in early adulthood.

ADAVS present in all age groups and almost all of them are located in the cavernous venous plexus. Post embolisation outcome is excellent.

Clinical characteristics of dural arteriovenous shunts in 446 patients of three different ethnicities

SUMMARY

Dural arteriovenous shunts (DAVSs) developing in either the ventral, dorsal or lateral epidural spaces (VE, DE and LE-shunts) predictably drain in either cranio/spino-fugal or -petal directions. Associated conditions like venous outflow restrictions (VOR) may be responsible for changes in this drainage pattern. The goal of this study was to compare demographic, angiographic and clinical characteristics of different types of DAVS in Europe, South America, and Asia to find out whether the same clinical profile is present in different ethnicities. Charts and angiographic films of 446 patients with DAVS from three hospitals in Europe, Asia and South America were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical symptoms were separated into benign and aggressive and the presence or absence of cortical venous reflux (CVR) and VOR was noted. LE-shunts were present in elderly men and were always associated with CVR resulting in aggressive symptoms. VE-shunts were present in females and almost always had benign symptoms. There were no differences among the three populations for these shunts. DE-shunts in the Asian population were more aggressive secondary to a higher rate of VOR with associated CVR. VE-shunts rarely lead to CVR even in the presence of VOR, whereas LE-shunts invariably lead to CVR, irrespective of the population investigated. CVR in DE-shunts is not related to the primary disease (i.e. the shunt itself) but to associated factors that led to VOR. Since the occurrence of these varied between different ethnicities, DE-shunts were aggressive in the Asian population and benign in the European and South American populations.

Single hole high flow arteriovenous fistula. A characteristic presentation of rendu-osler-weber disease in a young adult treated by endovascular approach. Case report

SUMMARY

A high flow pial arteriovenous fistula in a twenty-years-old girl is described. The arteriovenous communication corresponds to a single hole fistula on the right rolandic area, with a giant venous ectasia. The patient presented seizures and left hemiparesis as symptoms. The fistula was embolized with glue obtaining total occlusion of the shunt. Hypotension was induced and valsalva manoeuver was done during the glue injection to reduce the flow into the fistula, however 26 hours after the procedure the patient bled resulting in a fatal outcome. The purpose of this paper is discuss the presentation of Rendu-Osler-Weber (ROW) in children and the therapeutic guidelines.

Trifocal monomyelomeric spinal cord arteriovenous fistulae in a seven-year-old boy

SUMMARY

We describe a rare case of multiple arteriovenous fistulae of the spinal cord (SCAVF) in the same myelomer in a five-year-old boy. This case report consists of a trifocal SCAVF at the Th12 myelomeric level without communication between the three different fistulae. Two AVF were located posteriorly, bilateraly, in the spinal cord, fed by left and right posterior radiculopial arteries and one anteriorly in the anterior spinal axis. The venous drainage was independent for each lesion. The patient presents associated lesions characterized by cutaneous stain and inferior limb asymmetry. A metameric distribution is the explanation for the multiplicity of these lesions in a syndromic association related to Cobb syndrome. The patient was treated by transarterial embolization using glue with occlusion of the three different fistulae. The patient achieved a good improvement in neurological status.

Cerebellar arteries originating from the internal carotid artery

PURPOSE

To study the incidence of cerebellar arteries originating directly from the internal carotid artery, and to discuss the probable embryological origin and clinical implications of this anatomical anomaly.

METHODS

We reviewed 5500 angiographic studies done at our institution in the last 4 years, searching for these anomalous vessels as well as for other anatomical variants.

RESULTS

Eleven cerebellar arteries originating directly from the internal carotid artery and nine embryonic cerebral arteries were found.

CONCLUSION

These arteries are considered persistent trigeminal artery variants and seem to occur as the result of the persistence of a primitive trigeminal artery associated with an incomplete fusion of the longitudinal neural arteries. These anomalous vessels are clinically significant particularly because of their role in endovascular therapeutic and surgical complications and the paradoxical lesions in the cerebellum that occur as a result of carotid disease.

Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (C. AVM) and associated arterial aneurysms (AA). Analysis of 101 C. AVM cases, with 37 AA in 23 patients

We report a series of 101 patients with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (CAVM), in which 23 cases presented with one or several arterial aneurysm(s) (AA). Each AA could be classified into distal intra-lesional, proximal or remote. Patients with CAVM + AA tend to be older and more frequently present with epilepsy, haemorrhage events and neurological deficits. Of these 23 patients, 16 had their AVM treated partially or totally by embolization. In our series, the endovascular treatment of the arteriovenous shunt with a proximal AA on the same vessel has resulted in at least a regression, and sometimes a disappearance of the arterial ectasia. Although partial treatment of the AVM does no erase the risk of haemorrhage from the malformation itself, it may diminish the chance of developing a flow-related AA or any other expression of the high-flow angiopathy.