Cavernous body hemangioma, four major symptoms you must know!

Is cavernous hemangioma a tumor? According to experts, cavernous hemangioma is not a real tumor, but a type of vascular malformation. However, its harmfulness should not be underestimated. So how to judge whether you have this disease? Let's introduce the clinical manifestations of cavernous hemangioma.

1. Epilepsy

Seizures are the most common symptom of cavernous hemangioma, almost twice as common as cerebral arteriovenous malformations. To date, the incidence of refractory epilepsy is still unclear, but large case statistics by Casazza et al. show that 40% of patients with intratentorial cavernous hemangioma present with refractory epilepsy. The incidence of epilepsy is higher in patients with lesions located in the temporal lobe, with calcification or severe hemosiderin deposition, and in male patients. It is generally believed that epileptic seizures are related to the compression, irritation or colloid hyperplasia of the surrounding brain tissue caused by lesions or hemorrhage.

2. Intracranial hemorrhage

Almost all patients with cavernous hemangioma have subclinical microbleeds. Because the blood vessels are small and the pressure is low, bleeding that causes obvious clinical symptoms is relatively rare, accounting for 8% to 37%. Women, especially pregnant women, children and patients with a history of bleeding have a relatively high bleeding rate. Compared with cerebral arteriovenous malformations, bleeding in this disease is not serious and rarely life-threatening unless it is located in an important functional area. Even with conservative treatment after bleeding, recovery is generally good.

3. Focal neurological symptoms

Symptoms depend on the location and size of the lesion. MRI examinations often reveal bleeding within or around the lesion. Because the brainstem is densely populated with nerve nuclei and conduction tracts, lesions in these areas often cause neurological dysfunction.

4. No clinical symptoms

It accounts for 11% to 44% of all cases. Mild headache may be the only complaint, and the disease is often discovered through this or imaging examinations during physical examinations. About 40% of asymptomatic patients can develop into symptomatic cavernous hemangiomas after six months to two years.