Cavernous malformation hemorrhage rates have classically been derived from a mixture of symptomatic and asymptomatic lesions. In order to determine the prospective hemorrhage rate, Moore and co-authors present the longest follow-up of asymptomatic intracerebral cavernomas. 1311 patient-years of follow-up for 107 patients diagnosed between 1989 and 1999 (49.5% male; mean age at diagnosis 52 years) were available for this cohort of incidentally found cavernomas. The prospective bleed rate was 0.08% per patient-year. No new seizures developed in these patients during follow-up. This study shows that the prospective hemorrhage and seizure risks in patients presenting with asymptomatic cavernomas are very low, and aids managment decisions for these patients.
Source
National Center for Biotechnology Information