Cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is nonspecific disease entity that has been associated with a number of neuropathologic conditions, the most prominent being dementia and cerebral hemorrhage. It occurs more commonly than is generally appreciated, with implications that may be overlooked. Amyloid deposits are found in the vessels of the leptomeninges and cerebral cortex. There is often a close topographic relation to senile plaques, the histologic abnormality characteristic of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia. Because of this relation and the well documented presence of amyloid in senile plaques, a similar natural history has been postulated for each. Histochemical studies indicate, however, that there are distinct differences between the amyloid deposits in cerebral vessels and senile plaques. An association between cerebral amyloid angiopathy and other forms of amyloidosis has similarly failed to be established, and a successful form of therapy has yet to be devised.