Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsRisk FactorsCausesDiagnosisTreatment

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Symptoms

Risk Factors

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment

A condition called amyloid angiopathy is often associated with stroke. Amyloid angiopathy is the accumulation of protein fragments in blood vessels. Typically, the presence of amyloid in the brain is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and several types of dementia.

However, the amyloid buildup in the brain can also affect the blood vessels, making them fragile and more likely to bleed. This results in bleeding in the brain, which is often referred to ashemorrhagic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage.

VICTOR DE SCHWANBERG / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images

Illustration of the effects of a stroke in the brain

The symptoms of amyloid angiopathy vary depending on which blood vessels bleed and how much the fragile blood vessels bleed. When there is a small amount of bleeding, there may be no symptoms at all.

If recurrent bleeding episodes occur, symptoms may begin to become noticeable. In some cases, the symptoms can be vague, causing a progressive loss of memory or a mild deficit in brain function, such as blurry vision. When there is a large area of bleeding, this may cause major neurological symptoms that include hemiparesis, hemiplegia, loss of consciousness, and seizures.

There seems to be a hereditary association with amyloid angiopathy, but people can develop amyloid angiopathy without a family history of the condition.

Amyloid deposits may accumulate inside the walls of blood vessels in the brain. This is referred to as amyloid angiopathy.

The accumulation of amyloid may cause blood vessels to deteriorate over time until they eventually break down and bleed. Amyloid has also been associated with inflammation, which is the body’s way of dealing with any injury or infection. Inflammationis associated with stroke.

Amyloid angiopathy can also lead to a large area of bleeding in the brain, which can be life-threatening.

The most reliable method used to diagnose amyloid angiopathy is a brain biopsy, which is not a practical procedure. A brain biopsy is a surgical procedure that carries a risk of bleeding and/or infection. Therefore, biopsies are not performed unless they are absolutely necessary.

Your healthcare provider can use a form of MRI called “the gradient echo” (GRE) to obtain some clues that can help decipher whether you may have amyloid angiopathy. This is an efficient test that detects bleeding in the brain. GRE can identify large or small areas of bleeding that took place hours or years before the test. The characteristic appearance of amyloid angiopathy on GRE is commonly referred to as “cortical cerebral microbleeding."

Treatments

Once bleeding in the brain has occurred, the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage due to amyloid angiopathy is no different from the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage due to any other cause.

A Word From Verywell

At the present time, there is little that can be done to reverse the process of amyloid protein deposition. If you have been diagnosed with this disorder, you should maintain normal blood pressure and avoid certainblood thinners,such as warfarin, as these can increase the risk of bleeding in the brain.

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brenowitz WD, Nelson PT, Besser LM, Heller KB, Kukull WA.Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and its co-occurrence with Alzheimer’s disease and other cerebrovascular neuropathologic changes.Neurobiol Aging. 2015;36(10):2702-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.06.028Miller-thomas MM, Sipe AL, Benzinger TL, Mcconathy J, Connolly S, Schwetye KE.Multimodality Review of Amyloid-related Diseases of the Central Nervous System.Radiographics. 2016;36(4):1147-63. doi: 10.1148/rg.2016150172Banerjee G, Carare R, Cordonnier C, et al.The increasing impact of cerebral amyloid angiopathy: essential new insights for clinical practice.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2017;88(11):982-994. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314697Bernstein RA, Gibbs M, Hunt batjer H.Clinical diagnosis and successful treatment of inflammatory cerebral amyloid angiopathy.Neurocrit Care. 2011;14(3):453-5. doi: 10.1007/s12028-010-9497-0

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brenowitz WD, Nelson PT, Besser LM, Heller KB, Kukull WA.Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and its co-occurrence with Alzheimer’s disease and other cerebrovascular neuropathologic changes.Neurobiol Aging. 2015;36(10):2702-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.06.028Miller-thomas MM, Sipe AL, Benzinger TL, Mcconathy J, Connolly S, Schwetye KE.Multimodality Review of Amyloid-related Diseases of the Central Nervous System.Radiographics. 2016;36(4):1147-63. doi: 10.1148/rg.2016150172Banerjee G, Carare R, Cordonnier C, et al.The increasing impact of cerebral amyloid angiopathy: essential new insights for clinical practice.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2017;88(11):982-994. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314697Bernstein RA, Gibbs M, Hunt batjer H.Clinical diagnosis and successful treatment of inflammatory cerebral amyloid angiopathy.Neurocrit Care. 2011;14(3):453-5. doi: 10.1007/s12028-010-9497-0

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Brenowitz WD, Nelson PT, Besser LM, Heller KB, Kukull WA.Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and its co-occurrence with Alzheimer’s disease and other cerebrovascular neuropathologic changes.Neurobiol Aging. 2015;36(10):2702-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.06.028Miller-thomas MM, Sipe AL, Benzinger TL, Mcconathy J, Connolly S, Schwetye KE.Multimodality Review of Amyloid-related Diseases of the Central Nervous System.Radiographics. 2016;36(4):1147-63. doi: 10.1148/rg.2016150172Banerjee G, Carare R, Cordonnier C, et al.The increasing impact of cerebral amyloid angiopathy: essential new insights for clinical practice.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2017;88(11):982-994. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314697Bernstein RA, Gibbs M, Hunt batjer H.Clinical diagnosis and successful treatment of inflammatory cerebral amyloid angiopathy.Neurocrit Care. 2011;14(3):453-5. doi: 10.1007/s12028-010-9497-0

Brenowitz WD, Nelson PT, Besser LM, Heller KB, Kukull WA.Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and its co-occurrence with Alzheimer’s disease and other cerebrovascular neuropathologic changes.Neurobiol Aging. 2015;36(10):2702-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.06.028

Miller-thomas MM, Sipe AL, Benzinger TL, Mcconathy J, Connolly S, Schwetye KE.Multimodality Review of Amyloid-related Diseases of the Central Nervous System.Radiographics. 2016;36(4):1147-63. doi: 10.1148/rg.2016150172

Banerjee G, Carare R, Cordonnier C, et al.The increasing impact of cerebral amyloid angiopathy: essential new insights for clinical practice.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2017;88(11):982-994. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2016-314697

Bernstein RA, Gibbs M, Hunt batjer H.Clinical diagnosis and successful treatment of inflammatory cerebral amyloid angiopathy.Neurocrit Care. 2011;14(3):453-5. doi: 10.1007/s12028-010-9497-0

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