New Trends in Management of Epilepsy in Patients with Cerebral Venous Malformations: Our Experience

Abstract

Background: Venous vascular malformations, also known as venous angiomas or, more exactly, developmental venous anomalies (DVAs), represent congenital, anatomically variant pathways in the normal venous drainage of the brain area. In general neurological practice, DVAs are not considered epileptogenic, therefore, in conducting neuroimaging as a rule, not taken into account. A positive correlation, however, between the location of the DVAs and the electroencephalographic seizure focus is debated. Materials and Methods: The present study provides a complete analysis of clinical and MRI characteristics of symptomatic epilepsies associated with cerebral venous malformations in children and adults. Patients were selected after a retrospective search through the database of the Neurological Center of Epileptology, Neurogenetics and Brain Research of the University Clinic into which, since 2016, patients were prospectively entered. To date (February 2016), there is a total of 5,856 patients with epilepsy of which there are 105 patients with congenital malformations of the brain, and 32 of them were found to have principal diagnosis of DVA. Results: Cavernous angiomas prevailed among venous anomalies (53.1%); DVAs were registered in 46.9% of cases. The associated analysis of DVA localization and the epileptic seizure types showed a direct relationship in 60.0% cases. Conclusion: DVAs as a cause of seizures are important to consider when examining patients with epileptic seizures.

Keywords

• brain
• developmental venous anomalies
• cavernous malformation
• epilepsy
• management