Spontaneous regression of intracranial arteriovenous malformations

✓ This is a report of spontaneous regression of intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVM's) in three female patients; two of these patients had complete angiographic disappearance of the AVM, including an instance of intimate association of the AVM with an astrocytoma. The AVM's in these two patients were unicompartmental medium- to large-sized lesions supplied by a single feeder and draining principally through one large vein; spontaneous thrombosis is suggested as a cause of the AVM regression. Partial regression in the third patient might have been partially due to embolism from a clot-filled aneurysm on the feeding vessel. The significance of such disappearance of AVM's in relation to persistence or otherwise of the neurological status of these patients is discussed.