A case of curable dementia treated by effective endovascular embolization for dural arteriovenous fistula.
BACKGROUND
We report a case in which an effective endovascular treatment cured the worsening of dementia due to a dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF).


METHODS
A 73-year-old woman suffered for 1.5 years from gait disturbance and disorientation that were suspicious of dementia. A brain MRI revealed that her symptoms were likely due to dAVF. An angiography provided a definitive diagnosis of dural transverse-sigmoid sinus fistula. Transvenous embolization completely occluded the fistula and led to a significant improvement of her cognitive function in tandem with a restoration of the cerebral blood flow.


CONCLUSIONS
Endovascular treatment for dAVF is sometimes effective in treating worsening dementia, which might be due to the drastic change in cerebral blood flow in the area relevant to the cognitive function.
Department of Neurosurgery, Nagareyama Central Hospital, Nagareyama, Japan.
Tomoyuki
T
Yoshihara
Department of Neurosurgery, Nagareyama Central Hospital, Nagareyama, Japan.
Ryuzaburo
R
Kanazawa
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine II, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
Shinichiro
S
Maeshima
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Ohbu, Japan.
Aiko
A
Osawa
Department of Neurosurgery, Saku Central Hospital, Saku, Japan.
Ikuo
I
Ochiai
Department of Endovascular Neurosurgery, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Japan.
Nahoko
N
Uemiya
Department of Endovascular Neurosurgery, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Japan.
Shinya
S
Kohyama
Department of Endovascular Neurosurgery, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Japan.
Fumitaka
F
Yamane
Department of Endovascular Neurosurgery, International Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Japan.
Shoichiro
S
Ishihara
Cerebral blood flow; Dementia; Dural arteriovenous fistula; Endovascular treatment; Neuropsychological assessment; Single photon emission computed tomography; Venous hypertension