Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome: a clinical study of 11 cases

Abstract

This study reports eleven cases of reversible cerebral vasospasm syndrome (RCVS). Of the 11 patients, two were males and nine were females, with the average age of 47.9 ± 14.1 years. Many of these patients were young. The rates of severe, intractable and pulsative headache, generalized convulsions, and motor hemiparesis were 64%, 27%, and 36%, respectively. As complications of intracerebral lesions in the early stage of disease onset, convexal subarachnoid hemorrhage, lobar intracerebral hemorrhage, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome were observed in 63%, 9%, and 45% of cases, respectively. Cerebral infarction occurred in 45% of cases at around 1–3 weeks after onset. Improvement of cerebral vasoconstriction was recognized in several cases from about the first month of onset. The post-partum period, migraine, transfusion, rapid amelioration for anemia, renal failure, bathing, and cerebrovascular dissection were suspected as disease triggers. Abnormally high blood pressure at onset was confirmed in 55% of cases. It is important to analyze the pathophysiology of RCVS associated with these triggers from the viewpoint of the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier.