INTRACEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE OF UNDETERMINED ETIOLOGY IN YOUNG ADULTS—REPORT OF FIVE PATIENTS—

Abstract

We reviewed 20 cases in which 15 to 45 year-old patients were hospitalized for nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs) between 1990 and 1992. In this series, the etiology of five cases from 15 to 29 year-old (mean age, 21.4 years) could not be determined. The sites of hemorrhage were : subcortical (three), the head of the caudate (one), and putamen (one) . The overall prognosis (two underwent surgery and three were treated medically) was good. In each case several explanations were possible, but in several final diagnosis they remained undetermined. These cases indicate that several points of view must be considered when determining the cause of hemorrhage.