De Novo Appearance of Three Cavernomas in an Infant with Dural AV Shunts. Case Report

Cavernomas of the brain and spinal cord are malformations which are generally considered congenital and often found in young adults. Although the distinction of a sporadic and a hereditary type is discussed, the natural history is still poorly understood. We present the unusual case of an infant first submitted to CT scan, MRI and MR-angiography at the age of three months, revealing multiple AV shunts of the superior sagittal and the sigmoid sinus, with a small pial supply. A second angiogram at the age of six months showed an additional parietal pial AVM. At this time, partial embolisation of the dural AV shunts was performed. At the age of three, the child was restudied by MRI and three formerly invisible cavernomas were detected.