Familial cavernous angiomas
J. M. Bicknell, T. J. Carlow, M. Kornfeld, J. Stovring and P. Turner
Cavernous angiomas are rare, surgically remediable vascular malformations
of the CNS that may be characterized by hemorrhage, seizures, or focal
neurologic deficits. Three families with cavernous angiomas have been
described, and we report two more. In the first, the mother died suddenly
with headache. A pontine cavernous angioma was found at autopsy in one son.
His brother has similar pontine signs and a radiographically proved pontine
mass. The brother's son has seizures and a calcified cerebral lesion. In
the second family, the father had a cavernous angioma excised from the
caudale. One of the daughters had a hemorrhagic mass removed from the
spinal cord. Another daughter has seizures and a temporal lobe vascular
lesion proved angiographically. Awareness of the possibility of familial
involvement may aid in diagnosis of cavernous angioma.
