Cavernous malformation of the corpus callosum

Case contributed by Amro Omar
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Seizure.

Patient Data

Age: 10 years
Gender: Female
  • T1WI: "popcorn ball" appearance of mixed hyper/hypointense blood-containing locules
  • T2WI: reticulated popcorn-like lesion most typical, mixed signal core, complete hypointense hemosiderin rim
  • T2* GRE: prominent susceptibility effect (hypointense "blooming")

Case Discussion

Diagnosis: cerebral cavernous malformation

Terminology

  • represents a benign vascular hamartoma
    • contains masses of closely apposed immature blood vessels ("caverns"), no neural tissue
    • intralesional hemorrhages of different ages
  • exhibit a range of dynamic behavior (enlargement, regression, de novo formation)

Imaging

  • vary from microscopic to giant (> 6 cm)
  • locules of variable size contain blood products at different stages of evolution
    • variable appearance depending on hemorrhage/stage
  • Zabramski classification
    • type 1 = subacute hemorrhage (hyperintense on T1WI; hyper-/hypointense on T2WI)
    • type 2 = mixed signal intensity on T1, T2WI with degrading hemorrhage of various ages (classic "popcorn ball" lesion)
    • type 3 = chronic hemorrhage (hypo- to iso on T1, T2WI)
    • type 4 = punctate microhemorrhages ("black dots"), poorly seen except on T2* sequences
  • angiography is usually normal ("angiographically occult vascular malformation") unless the lesion is extradural

Differential considerations include:

  • arteriovenous malformation
  • hemorrhagic neoplasm
  • calcified neoplasm
  • hypertensive microbleeds
  • cerebral amyloid angiopathy

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.