Multiple intracerebral cavernous angiomas.

Eight patients (seven women and one man) with multiple intracerebral cavernous angiomas (cavernomas), also known as angiomatosis cerebri, were examined with high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although previous articles have referred to such cases, a series similar to the one reported here has apparently not been described in the radiology literature. The patients presented with seizures, progressive neurologic deficit or cerebral hemorrhage. In all eight cases the multiplicity of the lesions was an incidental finding in the magnetic resonance images. The MRI appearance of the cavernomas, although characteristic, is similar to that of other angiographically occult intracranial vascular malformations, in particular thrombosed arteriovenous malformations and mixed vascular malformations, as well as that of hemorrhagic metastases. Additional criteria, such as the absence of edema, the presence of calcifications and the temporal evolution of the cavernomas on serial scans, should allow cavernomas to be differentiated from hemorrhagic metastases. The exquisite sensitivity in detecting angiomatosis cerebri and the ability to show the evolution of internal hemorrhage in individual lesions make MRI the method of choice for diagnosing and following this condition.