Cerebral cavernous malformation

What it means

A cerebral cavernous malformation (also known as cavernoma, cavernous angioma, cavernous hemangioma) is a collection of structurally abnormal slow-flow capillaries predominantly in the central nervous system. These are multiple mulberry-like distended caverns of dilated thin-walled capillaries without the normal intervening brain parenchymal architecture. Often, individual cavernomas are surrounded by hemosiderin representing remote oozing due to the abnormal capillaries.

Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCMs) have been reported to be the second most common vascular malformation of the central nervous system after developmental venous anomalies (DVA). The majority of CCM cases comprises a single lesion with or without associated DVA. These are called sporadic CCMs and are often asymptomatic and nonhereditary. The other type, called hereditary or familial CCM (FCCM), is due to autosomal dominant inherited genetic mutation, associated with multiple lesions. CCM can be found at multiple locations in the central nervous system with supratentorial lesions being more common than the infratentorial lesions.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category