A case of inflammatory cerebral amyloid angiopathy after ischemic stroke - a potential risk factor related to blood-brain barrier disruption.

Overview

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) is a cerebrovascular disease prevalent in elderly patients and strongly associated with cognitive decline and intracranial hemorrhage. Inflammatory forms of CAA (CAA-Related Inflammation i.e. CAA-ri and Amyloid-Beta Related Angiitis i.e. ABRA) are responsible for rapid neurocognitive decline, but are highly responsive to corticosteroid treatment. We present a patient with history of CAA who developed probable CAA-ri/ABRA three months after an acute ischemic stroke. We review the literature and imaging criteria for CAA-ri/ABRA, and propose further research for any association between these entities and blood-brain barrier disruption in the setting of ischemia.