What is a Cavernoma?
A cavernoma is made up of abnormal blood vessels, found mostly in the brain and spinal cord.
​
​It is filled with blood that flows slowly through these vessels.
​
Cavernomas have thin leaky cell walls. This can sometimes cause blood within the cavernoma to ooze into the surrounding tissue or within itself, enlarging the cavernoma. This can cause many symptoms.
​
Blood may have oozed slowly out of the cavernoma over time or there may have been a haemorrhage of a larger amount of blood over a shorter period of time, such as a few days.
​​
Cavernoma can be either symptomatic or asymptomatic.​​​​
Cavernoma Symptoms
Cavernoma causing symptoms are rare.
At least 1 in 400,000 people are diagnosed with a symptomatic cavernoma each year.
​
The type, severity, combination and duration of symptoms may vary, depending on the location of the cavernoma.
​
Symptoms can include;
‣ haemorrhage, strokes, seizures, headaches
‣ tremors, weakness, numbness
‣ speech and eyesight problems
‣ fatigue, memory and concentration difficulties​
‣ neurological partial/full paralysis
​
When the symptoms from a cavernoma related haemorrhage in the brain lasts longer than a day, this is called a ‘Haemorrhagic Stroke’.
​
A cavernoma with no symptoms is referred to as been asymptomatic/incidental finding. ​​​
Sporadic and Hereditary Cavernoma
There is sporadic & hereditary cavernoma. The hereditary form of cavernoma is recognised as a rare disease. ​
Sporadic cases are defined by having no family history and no genetic basis for the cavernoma.
Typically, affected individuals have only one cavernoma.
Less than 20% of people with a cavernoma have the hereditary form. It is caused by a single gene mutation, or mistake in one of three different genes, CCM1, CCM2, or CCM3.​​​
Once a cavernoma 'has had one haemorrhage, it is at a significantly greater risk of bleeding again.'
​
'Cavernoma is also know as cavernous angiomas, cavernous haemangiomas, or cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM).
What do they look like?
Cavernoma look like a raspberry.
​
On an MRI scan cavernomas look like a raspberry with a ring around it.
The ring appearance is hemosiderin deposition. Hemosiderin is iron, a byproduct of the breakdown of blood.
This blood has oozed/haemorrhaged from the cavernoma.
MRI Scan Images with Cavernoma
Brain
Spinal cord