2. Academic Validation
  3. Cortical superficial siderosis: detection and clinical significance in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and related conditions

Cortical superficial siderosis: detection and clinical significance in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and related conditions

  • Brain. 2015 Aug;138(Pt 8):2126-39. doi: 10.1093/brain/awv162.
Andreas Charidimou 1,  Jennifer Linn 2,  Meike W Vernooij 3,  Christian Opherk 4,  Saloua Akoudad 3,  Jean-Claude Baron 5,  Steven M Greenberg 6,  Hans Rolf Jäger 7,  David J Werring 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1 Stroke Research Group, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology and The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK 2 Stroke Research Centre, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
  • 2 3 Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany.
  • 3 4 Department of Radiology and Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
  • 4 5 Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, and Department of Neurology, SLK-Kliniken, Heilbronn, Germany.
  • 5 6 UMR 894 INSERM-Université Paris 5, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.
  • 6 2 Stroke Research Centre, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
  • 7 1 Stroke Research Group, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology and The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK 7 Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK.
  • 8 1 Stroke Research Group, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology and The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK [email protected].
PMID: 26115675 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv162
Abstract

Cortical superficial siderosis describes a distinct pattern of blood-breakdown product deposition limited to cortical sulci over the convexities of the cerebral hemispheres, sparing the brainstem, cerebellum and spinal cord. Although cortical superficial siderosis has many possible causes, it is emerging as a key feature of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a common and important age-related cerebral small vessel disorder leading to intracerebral haemorrhage and dementia. In cerebral amyloid angiopathy cohorts, cortical superficial siderosis is associated with characteristic clinical symptoms, including transient focal neurological episodes; preliminary data also suggest an association with a high risk of future intracerebral haemorrhage, with potential implications for antithrombotic treatment decisions. Thus, cortical superficial siderosis is of relevance to neurologists working in neurovascular, memory and epilepsy clinics, and neurovascular emergency services, emphasizing the need for appropriate blood-sensitive magnetic resonance sequences to be routinely acquired in these clinical settings. In this review we focus on recent developments in neuroimaging and detection, aetiology, prevalence, pathophysiology and clinical significance of cortical superficial siderosis, with a particular emphasis on cerebral amyloid angiopathy. We also highlight important areas for future investigation and propose standards for evaluating cortical superficial siderosis in research studies.

Keywords

cerebral amyloid angiopathy; cortical superficial siderosis; intracerebral haemorrhage; magnetic resonance imaging; small vessel disease.

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