Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Microbleeds versus macrobleeds: evidence for distinct entities.


ABSTRACT: Small, asymptomatic microbleeds commonly accompany larger symptomatic macrobleeds. It is unclear whether microbleeds and macrobleeds represent arbitrary categories within a single continuum versus truly distinct events with separate pathophysiologies.We performed 2 complementary retrospective analyses. In a radiographic analysis, we measured and plotted the volumes of all hemorrhagic lesions detected by gradient-echo MRI among 46 consecutive patients with symptomatic primary lobar intracerebral hemorrhage diagnosed as probable or possible cerebral amyloid angiopathy. In a second neuropathologic analysis, we performed blinded qualitative and quantitative examinations of amyloid-positive vessel segments in 6 autopsied subjects whose MRI scans demonstrated particularly high microbleed counts (>50 microbleeds on MRI, n=3) or low microbleed counts (<3 microbleeds, n=3).Plotted on a logarithmic scale, the volumes of 163 hemorrhagic lesions identified on scans from the 46 subjects fell in a distinctly bimodal distribution with mean volumes for the 2 modes of 0.009 cm(3) and 27.5 cm(3). The optimal cut point for separating the 2 peaks (determined by receiver operating characteristics) corresponded to a lesion diameter of 0.57 cm. On neuropathologic analysis, the high microbleed-count autopsied subjects showed significantly thicker amyloid-positive vessel walls than the low microbleed-count subjects (proportional wall thickness 0.53+/-0.01 versus 0.37+/-0.01; P<0.0001; n=333 vessel segments analyzed).These findings suggest that cerebral amyloid angiopathy-associated microbleeds and macrobleeds comprise distinct entities. Increased vessel wall thickness may predispose to formation of microbleeds relative to macrobleeds.

SUBMITTER: Greenberg SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2758289 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications


<h4>Background and purpose</h4>Small, asymptomatic microbleeds commonly accompany larger symptomatic macrobleeds. It is unclear whether microbleeds and macrobleeds represent arbitrary categories within a single continuum versus truly distinct events with separate pathophysiologies.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed 2 complementary retrospective analyses. In a radiographic analysis, we measured and plotted the volumes of all hemorrhagic lesions detected by gradient-echo MRI among 46 consecutive patient  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC7994386 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4033009 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6816155 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5518561 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4108073 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC10034566 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5303562 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC7082345 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7269191 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3591430 | biostudies-literature