Cerebrovascular disorders or AVM
Cerebrovascular malformation (AVM) is an abnormal complication of the arteries at the junction of the arteries to the arteries. The arteries are responsible for carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the brain. Oxygen-depleted blood vessels return to the lungs and heart. Cerebral AVM problems disrupt this vital process. Vascular abnormalities can occur in any part of the body but are most often seen in the brain or spine. However, people rarely develop cerebrovascular abnormalities, which occur in less than one percent of people.
The main cause of cerebrovascular disorders is still unknown. The disease is more common in people, but it can occur later in life. Of course, the percentage of heredity is very low.
Some people with cerebral AVM experience symptoms such as headaches or seizures. People usually find out about the disease in the brain when they have a brain scan for a disease or other problem, or when they have a brain hemorrhage due to a ruptured cerebral artery. Once diagnosed, this brain complication can be successfully treated to prevent complications such as brain injury or stroke.
What are the signs and symptoms of cerebral AVM?
Cerebral AVM usually has no symptoms unless ruptured blood vessels lead to cerebral hemorrhage. More than half of brain AVMs show signs of cerebral hemorrhage. However, some people may experience symptoms other than cerebral hemorrhage. These symptoms include:
Convulsions
Headache or pain in one area of the head
Muscle weakness or numbness in one part of the body
Some people may experience more neurological symptoms associated with the location of the AVM, including:
severe headache
Weakness, numbness or paralysis
Loss of vision
Difficulty speaking
Confusion or inability to understand others
Severe instability
How can cerebrovascular disorders be treated?
There are currently 4 ways to control cerebrovascular disease:
Pharmacotherapy
Medication is given to control some of the symptoms (including seizures). In such a case, no special action is taken to clear the brain of AVM because its treatment is more dangerous than AVM itself.
Cerebrovascular malformation surgery
In AVM surgery, cranial resection (craniotomy) is necessary to remove this lesion. For the surgery to be as effective as possible, the lesion must be completely removed. Surgery reduces the risk of bleeding from the AVM, but may also cause injury to the patient depending on the size and location of the lesion. For example, removing a large lesion from the part of the brain that controls the body’s vital functions carries a high risk of removing a lesion that is smaller in size or is located in an area of the brain where less important activities are performed. After the lesion is removed, the skull is placed in place.
Radiosurgery
This method alone uses a high dose of focused beams to clear the AVM lesion. Radiosurgery or radiosurgery is performed by a team of a neurosurgeon and an oncologist. Radiosurgery is not always effective for all cerebrovascular abnormalities, but it has a high rate of treatment for small vascular abnormalities and lesions that conventional surgeries have a high risk of depending on the location of the lesion. Radiosurgery has a very low risk of cerebral hemorrhage and reduces the chance of the tumor becoming malignant.
Endovascular treatment
Endovascular is a minimally invasive procedure. In this procedure, catheters placed inside AVM blood vessels are sealed with an adhesive-like substance (embolization). These catheters are usually attached to a vein through the leg vein in the groin. In some cases, endovascular alone can cure AVM. However, most cerebrovascular abnormalities cannot be treated this way.
Endovascular surgery is usually performed before surgery or radiosurgery to make these treatments more effective or reduce the risk. The main risk of endovascular treatment is bleeding or stroke.
