[Intracerebral hemorrhage in the context of amyloid angiopathy].

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the characteristic findings of acute hemorrhage due to amyloid angiopathy with computed tomography. 14 patients of intracranial hemorrhage with histologically confirmed cerebral amyloid angiopathy were observed over a period of 4 years. Characteristic findings were a lobar hemorrhage in superficial localisation, cortical involvement, subarachnoid hemorrhage, the multiplicity of hemorrhages and repeated episodes. Severe cerebral amyloid angiopathy is often accompanied by multiple petechial hemorrhages, restricted to a cortical-subcortical distribution, detectable by magnetic resonance imaging. These findings suggest that cerebral amyloid angiopathy is not a rare cause of atraumatic lobar hemorrhage. Amyloid angiopathy should be considered in any elderly patient with superficial intracerebral hemorrhage in an atypical location.