Spinal cord vascular and leptomeningeal amyloid beta-protein deposition in a case with cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is characterized by the deposition of amyloid fibrils on leptomeningeal and cortical blood vessels, and the incidence of this disorder increases with age. However, this form of vascular amyloid deposition rarely involves tissues outside of the brain. A 71-year-old woman first developed some deterioration in memory, and soon afterwards suffered from recurrent episodes of subcortical hemorrhage. Histopathological examination of this case revealed typical pathology of Alzheimer's disease with an extensive appearance of beta-protein type CAA, and additionally, the spinal leptomeningeal vessels and the pia-arachnoid membranes were also affected by amyloid beta-protein deposits. The spinal cord involvement associated with CAA and Alzheimer's disease is unusual, and the present case provides additional important information on the pathogenesis of disorders with beta-protein deposition including Alzheimer's disease.