Senile cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Alternative names:

amyloidosis - cerebral

Symptoms:

• headache (usually focal, localized to a specific part of the head)
• vomiting
• drowsiness
• neurologic changes (variable):
  • double vision, decreased vision
  • speech difficulties
  • confusion, delirium
  • weakness or paralysis
  • sensation changes or loss of sensation in an area

• seizures
• stupor, coma

Note: A decreased cognitive ability may develop in some persons before cerebral hemorrhage occurs.

Signs and tests:

Lobar hemorrhage may be suspected by the health care provider. An examination shows focal neurologic deficits (brain function changes) that reflect the location of the bleed.

A CT scan or MRI of the head shows lobar intracerebral hemorrhage. An angiography of the brain may be used to rule out arteriovenous malformation as the cause of the bleed.

Senile cerebral amyloid angiopathy is not specifically diagnosed until after death when a postmortem biopsy reveals amyloid deposits in the blood vessels of the brain.