SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE IN THE ELDERLY - A NECROPSY STUDY OF THE ASSOCIATION WITH CEREBRAL AMYLOID ANGIOPATHY

To clarify the contribution of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) to su barachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in the elderly, relationships between SAH and CAA were investigated in 997 necropsy cases aged 60 years or olde r. Primary SAH (bleeding from subarachnoid vessels) was found in 15 ca ses (1.5%). There was no case in which primary SAH was clearly attribu ted to CAA. Secondary SAH [secondary rupture of intracerebral haemorrh age (ICH) through the cortex to the subarachnoid space] was found in 2 3 patients (2.3%). In 11 (48%) of them, ICH with secondary SAH was ass ociated with CAA. The results indicated that primary SAH is rarely rel ated to CAA, however, CAA is the most frequent cause of ICH accompanyi ng secondary SAH in the elderly.