title: Relationship between Aging and Enlargement of Intracranial Aneurysms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To predict possible enlargement of cerebral aneurysms with aging, we retrospectively analyzed aneurysm size in relation to patient age and aneurysm site.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 1332 unruptured and 2362 ruptured aneurysms detected in patients from the Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, from 1995 to 2005.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age-specific site distribution was not found in the unruptured aneurysms. In the ruptured aneurysms, the incidence of anterior communicating artery (AComA) aneurysms was higher than that of internal carotid posterior communicating (ICPC) artery aneurysms among the patients aged 40-49 years (32.6% versus 14.4%), whereas the difference was small among the elderly patients aged 70-79 years (25.8% versus 24.9%). In the AComA aneurysms, either in the unruptured or ruptured cases, no age-related change in size was found. In the ICPC aneurysms, either in the unruptured or in the ruptured cases, the size of the aneurysms 7 mm or larger increased with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sizes of AComA aneurysms may remain stable with aging. Therefore, the risk of rupture may be similar in young and elderly patients. Meanwhile, ICPC artery aneurysms may continue to grow throughout the patient's life, with an increasing risk of rupture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan. Electronic address: snomura@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Sadahiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kunitsugu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shirao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan; Yamaguchi Neurosurgical Association, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiyasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D017542:Aneurysm, Ruptured / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Subarachnoid hemorrhage; aging; aneurysmal location; aneurysmal size; community-based study; intracranial aneurysm