Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and Lobar Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is caused by the deposition of β-amyloid in the media and adventitia of small arteries and capillaries of the meninges and cerebral cortex. It is now recognized as a common cause of primary lobar intracerebral hemorrhage in elderly persons, and it is associated with frequent hemorrhage recurrence and the presence of asymptomatic petechial hemorrhages. Interestingly, although it has been nearly a century since the first pathological descriptions of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, knowledge of its link with intracerebral hemorrhage developed only within the last 35 years. This review provides a historical perspective on the still-evolving concept of cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related disease.