Familial cerebral cavernous malformation: features of clinical manifestation, pathology and imaging in a Chinese family.

was examined pathologically ( fig. 1 c, d). The cavernous angioma was composed of endothelial-linked sinusoidal spaces not separated by significant amounts of neural tissue. Hemorrhagic residua were common. Clots were seen at different stages of evolution within the lesion. The basal membrane of the sinus became thick and soft. Parts of it were layered. Nine of 18 people in the family (11 male and 7 female) were conclusively diagnosed as having FCCM. Six male and 3 female family members were between 8 and 77 years old (mean age 35.5 years) and all had multiple foci (highest number: 36 foci, size 0.2– 5.5 cm). The symptoms were repeated headache and dizziness (3 patients), hemiparalysis (3 patients), hemianesthesia (3 patients), refusal to drink and dysphagia (1 patient), seizure (1 patient), hemispasm (1 patient), skin angioma (4 patients) and asymptomatic manifestation (4 patients). Eight subjects had no foci on the MRI scan.