Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Synonyms

CAA

Definition

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is a syndrome characterized by recurrent spontaneous lobar cerebral hemorrhages of various sizes and in various locations. Each hemorrhage may be asymptomatic or may cause all of the symptoms of lobar hemorrhages resulting from increased intracranial pressure, including severe headache, seizure, stiff neck, and vomiting, altered consciousness, paralysis or weakness and sensory loss, and cognitive and language dysfunction, often leading to dementia after multiple episodes.

Current Knowledge

The pathological process that causes this disease is the deposition of a protein, beta-amyloid, in the walls of the medium-sized arteries of the brain. Interestingly, this protein is identical to the one found in high quantities in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The incidence of cerebral amyloid angiopathy is difficult to estimate but is known to increase with advancing age. It is thought to account for 15% of all intracerebral...