Cavernous Angioma

Cavernous angiomas are blood vessel abnormalities found in the brain, spinal cord, and in rare conditions, in other parts of the body. Other names for this condition include: cavernous hemangioma, cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), and cavernoma. It is estimated that cavernous angiomas occur in approximately 1 in 100 - 200 people. Most people start showing symptoms in their 20's or 30's but can also form much later in life. Therefore, incidence rates are higher among adults.

Cavernous angiomas vary drastically in size, from several inches in diameter to microscopic, and are structured in a group of cavern-like cells of varying sizes. The result of the structure is a "raspberry" appearance. The caverns, or bubbles, are filled with blood and lined with a layer of cells (endothelium) not unlike those that ordinarily line blood vessels. But the caverns of the cavernous angioma are faulty, with a lack of layers in the vessel wall that results in leakage.

Symptoms of a cavernous angioma include: seizures, stroke symptoms, hemorrhages, headache, and the compression of surrounding brain tissue, called mass effect. This mass effect can cause double vision, numbness, weakness, impaired vision or language difficulties.

Cavernous angiomas are diagnosed most often when they become symptomatic. Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is the most sensitive test for spotting cavernous angioma lesions. MRI scans would often show areas of new or old hemorrhages around the cavernous angioma. The MRI scan may need to be repeated to determine change in the size of a cavernous angioma, to assess recent bleeding, or to spot the appearance of new lesions.

There are medications available to treat symptomatic seizures and headaches. Surgery, however, is preferred for cavernous angiomas which expand in size, those that directly cause seizures, and those with recent hemorrhaging. Radiosurgery which makes use of a gamma knife, a linear accelerator or beam techniques, though controversial, has been used on treating cavernous angiomas too risky to be approached by the traditional from of surgery.

Find Doctors Who Treat Cavernous Angioma

ALABAMA Auburn, AL Birmingham, AL Dothan, AL Florence, AL Gadsden, AL Mobile, AL Montgomery, AL Tuscaloosa, AL ALASKA Anchorage, AK ARIZONA Flagstaff, AZ Mohave County, AZ Phoenix, AZ Prescott, AZ Sierra Vista, AZ Tucson, AZ Yuma, AZ ARKANSAS Fayetteville, AR Fort Smith, AR Jonesboro, AR Little Rock, AR CALIFORNIA Bakersfield, CA Chico, CA Fresno, CA Gold Country, CA Humboldt County, CA Imperial County, CA Inland Empire, CA Los Angeles, CA Mendocino, CA Merced, CA Modesto, CA Monterey, CA Orange County, CA Palm Springs, CA Redding, CA Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Luis Obispo, CA Santa Barbara, CA Stockton, CA Ventura, CA Visalia, CA Yuba. Sutter, CA COLORADO Boulder, CO Colorado Springs, CO Denver, CO Fort Collins, CO Western Slope, CO CONNECTICUT Eastern, CT Hartford, CT New Haven, CT Northwest, CT DELAWARE Wilmington, DE FLORIDA Daytona Beach, FL Fort Myers, FL Gainesville, FL Jacksonville, FL Key West, FL Lakeland, FL Miami, FL Ocala, FL Orlando, FL Panama City, FL Pensacola, FL Saint Augustine, FL Saint Cloud, FL Sarasota, FL Space Coast, FL Tallahassee, FL Tampa, FL Treasure Coast, FL GEORGIA Athens, GA Atlanta, GA Augusta, GA Brunswick, GA Columbus, GA Macon, GA Savannah, GA Valdosta, GA HAWAII Statewide, HI IDAHO Boise, ID Eastern, ID Twin Falls, ID

ILLINOIS Bloomington, IL Carbondale, IL Champaign, Urbana, IL Chicago, IL Decatur, IL Peoria, IL Rockford, IL Springfield, IL INDIANA Bloomington, IN Fort Wayne, IN Indianapolis, IN Lafayette, IN Muncie, IN South Bend, IN Terre Haute, IN IOWA Ames, IA Boone, IA Cedar Rapids, IA Des Moines, IA Dubuque, IA Iowa City, IA Quad Cities, IA Sioux City, IA Waterloo, Cedar Falls, IA KANSAS Lawrence, KS Manhattan, KS Topeka, KS Wichita, KS KENTUCKY Bowling Green, KY Lexington, KY Louisville, KY Western, KY LOUISIANA Baton Rouge, LA Lafayette, LA Lake Charles, LA Monroe, LA New Orleans, LA Shreveport, LA MAINE Northern, ME Portland, ME MARYLAND Annapolis, MD Baltimore, MD Southern, MD Western, MD MASSACHUSETTS Boston, MA Cape Cod, MA South Coast, MA Watertown, MA Western, MA Worchester, MA MICHIGAN Ann Arbor, MI Central, MI Detroit, MI Flint, MI Grand Rapids, MI Jackson, MI Kalamazoo, MI Lansing, MI Muskegon, MI Northern, MI Port Huron, MI Saginaw, MI Southwest, MI Upper Penninsula, MI MINNESOTA Duluth, MN Mankato, MN Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN Rochester, MN MISSISSIPPI Biloxi, Gulfport, MS Hattiesburg, MS Jackson, MS Northern, MS MISSOURI Joplin, MO Kansas City, MO Saint Louis, MO Southeast, MO Springfield, MO MONTANA Billings, MT Western, MT NEBRASKA Grand Island, NE Lincoln, NE Omaha, NE

NEVADA Las Vegas, NV Reno, NV NEW HAMPSHIRE Statewide, NH NEW JERSEY Central, NJ Northern, NJ Southern, NJ NEW MEXICO Albuquerque, NM Las Cruces, NM Roswell, Carlsbad, NM Santa Fe, Taos, NM NEW YORK Albany, NY Binghamton, NY Buffalo, NY Catskills, NY Chautauqua, NY Elmira, NY Hudson Valley, NY Ithaca, NY Long Island, NY New York, NY Plattsburgh, NY Rochester, NY Syracuse, NY Utica, NY NORTH CAROLINA Asheville, NC Charlotte, NC Eastern, NC Fayetteville, NC Greensboro, NC Hickory, NC Outer Banks, NC Raleigh, NC Wilmington, NC Winston Salem, NC NORTH DAKOTA Statewide, ND OHIO Akron, Canton, OH Athens, OH Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Dayton, OH Lima, Findlay, OH Mansfield, OH Sandusky, OH Toledo, OH Youngston, OH OKLAHOMA Lawton, OK Oklahoma City, OK Stillwater, OK Tulsa, OK OREGON Bend, OR Coastal Area, OR Corvallis, OR Eastern, OR Eugene, OR Medford, Ashland, Klamath, OR Portland, OR Roseburg, OR Salem, OR PENNSYLVANIA Altoona, PA Erie, PA Harrisburg, PA Jersey Shore, PA Lancaster, PA Lehigh Valley, PA Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Poconos, PA Reading, PA Scranton, PA State College, PA Williamsport, PA York, PA RHODE ISLAND Providence, RI SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston, SC Columbia, SC Florence, SC Greenville, SC Hilton Head, SC Myrtle Beach, SC

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre, SD Rapid City, SD Sioux Falls, SD TENNESSEE Chattanooga, TN Clarksville, TN Jackson, TN Knoxville, TN Memphis, TN Nashville, TN Tri-Cities, TN TEXAS Abilene, TX Amarillo, TX Austin, TX Beaumont, Port Arthur, TX Brownsville, TX College Station, TX Corpus Christi, TX Dallas, Fort Worth, TX El Paso, TX Galveston, TX Houston, TX Huntsville, TX Killeen, Temple, Ft. Hood, TX Laredo, TX Lubbock, TX McAllen, Edinburg, TX Odessa, TX San Antonio, TX San Marcos, TX Texarkana, TX Tyler, TX Victoria, TX Waco, TX Wichita Falls, TX UTAH American Fork, UT Brigham City, UT Cedar City, UT Kaysville, UT Layton, UT Logan, UT Ogden, UT Provo, Orem, UT Saint George, UT Salt Lake City, UT Spanish Fork, UT VERMONT Statewide, VT VIRGINIA Blacksburg, VA Charlottesville, VA Danville, VA Fredericksburg, VA Hampton, VA Lynchburg, VA Richmond, VA Roanoke, VA WASHINGTON Bellingham, WA Kennewick, WA Olympic Penninsula, WA Pullman, WA Seattle, WA Skagit, WA Spokane, WA Wenatchee, WA Yakima, WA Washington DC Washington, DC WEST VIRGINIA Charleston, WV Huntington, WV Martinsburg, WV Morgantown, WV Parkersburg, WV Wheeling, WV WISCONSIN Appleton, Oshkosh, FDL, WI Eau Claire, WI Green Bay, WI Janesville, WI Kenosha, Racine, WI La Crosse, WI Madison, WI Milwaukee, WI Sheboygan, WI Wausau, WI WYOMING Cheyenne, WY Northwest, WY Statewide, WY