About the disease
Angioma of brain is a benign vascular malformation. It can develop in any part of the brain, including surface of the brain, brainstem and cerebellum. Cerebral angioma consists of blood or lymphatic vessels. There are three types of angiomas made of blood vessels:
- Capillary angioma
- Venous angioma
- Cavernous angioma
In most cases, angioma of brain occurs as a congenital condition, meaning that it can rarely develop during the lifetime. In 95% of cases a child is already born with the condition. If it develops in adulthood, it can be caused by a serious brain infection.
It should be noted that angioma of brain is not a tumor, it grows slowly and doesn’t metastasize. Nonetheless it is a dangerous condition. The most serious complication of angioma is a brain hemorrhage. Sometimes it also can become malignant.
Symptoms
According to Pennsylvania Brain & Spine Institute, 25% of people with cavernous angiomas will not experience any manifestations of this disease during their life. In other cases symptoms include:
- Dizziness
- Convulsions resembling epileptic attacks
- Headache
- Frequent nausea
- Paralysis or restricted mobility of certain body parts
- Violation of speech
- Noise, heard in the head
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of this disease can be difficult, because angioma in most cases does not cause any symptoms for a long time. Nevertheless, modern technologies can detect it before it begins causing complications.
- Contrast angiography is probably the most precise diagnostic method. This is an imaging test, during which a patient receives an injection of special radiopaque substance that makes angioma visible for the X-ray.
- Selective angiography is a more precise diagnostic method, when catheter with radiopaque substance is injected directly in the area where angioma is most likely to be located.
- MRI and CT scan are also used for diagnosis of angioma as they can assess patient's blood vessels and brain tissue.
Treatment
- Platinum coils embolization (coiling) is a treatment technique during which coils are inserted through a catheter into the brain to switch the angioma off the systemic blood circulation. This prevents vessels from rupture and relieve angioma symptoms, if any are present.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery uses precisely targeted radiation beams to reach the angioma and treat it. Doctors can use either Gamma-knife, Cyberknife or Linear Accelerator for this purpose.
- Partial resection and coiling is a surgery, when angioma is resected. After this a surgeon places coils to close the malformation. This procedure is more invasive than the sole platinum coils embolization.
Authors: Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko
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