title: Benign angiopathy of the central nervous system or reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome.
abstract: Benign angiopathy of the central nervous system is a subset of primary angiitis of the central nervous system characterized by "benign" course. It means that changes of cerebral vessels are reversible after treatment with corticosteroids and calcium channel blockers, so these abnormalities are believed to reflect vasospasm rather than true vasculitis. The diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical presentation, brain magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral angiography. We present a young man with acute onset of headache and neurologic impairment secondary to ischemic stroke with intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cerebral angiography showed characteristic findings of diffuse vasculitis but good response to treatment with corticosteroids and calcium channel blockers distinguish this benign angiopathy from the more aggressive form of the central nervous system vasculitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dubrovnik General Hospital, Croatia. mirai@bolnica-du.hr
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ivanković
authors.forename: Andrijana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bogoje-Raspopović
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drobac
authors.forename: Drazana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mamić-Martinović
authors.forename: Maro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vodopić
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D020293:Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D020301:Vasospasm, Intracranial / Q000175:diagnosis*