Facts about Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

 What I have learnt about CAA

  • The small micro bleeds that are part of CAA are often present in the brain before they cause any noticeable symptoms. 
  • These microbleeds are generally only able to be identified by an MRI scan. A CT scan will only pick up larger bleeds or strokes.
  • The amyloid plaques are not in the cerebral tissue (as in Alzheimer's Disease) but are located within the blood vessels in the brain. This makes the blood vessels more fragile and prone to bleeding (haemorrhagic strokes). Most information does not tell you that these plaques can also lead to blockage of the blood vessels (ischaemic strokes).
  • There is no known cause (although there are current numerous studies into this) and there is no cure and there is no treatment.
  • The only "treatment" is to ensure that the person's blood pressure remains well managed. The person will generally be advised to avoid taking any medication that is a blood thinner eg aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen.
  • The amyloid plaques can and will at some stage cause major intracerebral haemorrhages (ICH). The problem is that these cannot be predicted. Will one occur tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or in 5-10 year's time.
  • You cannot predict how significant these strokes may be. Like any other stroke they may cause minor or substantial impact on everyday activities and abilities or they may result in substantial disability or death. My own GP described this condition as a "terminal illness".
  • This condition is not to be confused with "Amyloidosis". 
  • The increase in microbleeds over time throughout the brain, causes a subtle deterioration in cognitive function and mimics many of the symptoms of dementia.
  • CAA is a condition that while not necessarily rare, is unknown to most general practitioners and many specialty doctors and health practitioners. 
 
 
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brene Brown and Vulnerability

Image
In the arena of being a carer Over the years when I have found times to be tough, I go back to thinking of the quote "The Man in the Arena" but of course these days it would be good to re-title it as "The Person in the Arena". Theodore Roosevelt many years ago captured beautifully the courage of the person in the arena who "dares greatly", sometimes over and over again. Being "in the arena" is hard work. Sometimes you feel strong and can roll with the punches but at other times you feel like curling up in a corner of the arena and just taking a rest. Other times you may need to exit the arena temporarily or for a longer period but no one can ever say you didn't give it a crack and you can take pride in the fact that you were not one of those "cold and timid souls" who prefer to point the finger from the sidelines. What does this have to do with CAA? It's a tough job as a carer and tough as your role changes from th...
Read more

Amyloid Spells

  Amyloid Spells: What are they? This is a term that I only recently became familiar with. If you do an online search you will probably come up with something like this   Amyloid spells, also known as transient focal neurological episodes (TFNEs), are brief recurrent neurological episodes that can occur in people with CAA.   They can mimic seizures or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) and are often misdiagnosed. Amyloid spells are caused by the deposition of amyloid-beta protein in the walls of blood vessels in the brain, leading to vessel fragility and potential neurological events.   So .... this explain s a lot. My husband's new neurologist   explained these at his last appointment. When asked about what signs and symptoms he had experienced since the last appointment we discussed: Days when his memory appeared to be worse than usual Difficulty writing and/or reading Sensory changes in his face and arms Additional confusion when confronted with tasks Repo...
Read more

Compassion and Connection for Carers

 Compassion and Connection can come from surprising places. Some time ago I presented to Accident and Emergency with mild chest pain. I was not concerned but thought that it was prudent to have it checked out as we are always being told. I was not surprised that my cardiac function was fine.  The staff did a couple of other tests and while waiting for the results of these, one of the A and E doctors came to see me to have a chat. I mentioned that my husband had Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and I had recently started taking an anti depressant and that it was probably just some physical manifestation of mild anxiety. What did surprise me was his reaction when hearing of my circumstances. He took one look at me, went and shut the door to the cubicle and pulled up a chair and said to me with such sensitivity "that is a horrible, horrible disease". Most medical and other practitioners that I and my husband come across have never heard of the condition. Not only did he immediately u...
Read more