CEREBRAL MANIFESTATIONS OF AMYLOIDOSIS

questions of early diagnosis and therapy

Abstract

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the generally accepted term used to define amyloid deposits in the walls of leptomeningeal and cortical arteries of medium and small diameter, arterioles, less often capillaries and veins. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is an essential cause of cerebral haemorrhage, although it can also lead to ischemic infarction and dementia. Patients with CAA may have a wide clinical spectrum, including cognitive decline, lobar intracranial haemorrhage, and transient focal neurological episodes (recurrent, stereotyped, transient episodes of smoothly spreading paresthesia’s, numbness, or weakness, usually lasting seconds to minutes, usually resolving within a similar period).