Familial cavernous angiomas

Abstract

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.