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Updated: Jul 21, 2026
08:43
Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
Published on: May 31, 2016
Microvasculopathy may precede idiopathic cerebral calcifications--case report.
C R Gomez1, A Luque, S Horenstein
1Department of Neurology, St. Louis University Medical Center, Missouri.
Angiology
|January 1, 1989
Summary
This study reports a rare case of cerebral and cerebellar calcifications in a man with progressive dementia. Advanced imaging revealed unique findings potentially linked to fluid leakage from blood vessels.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuroimaging
- Pathology
Background:
- Investigating the neuroimaging characteristics of dementing illnesses.
- Understanding the role of calcifications in neurological disorders.
Observation:
- A patient presented with progressive dementia, memory loss, irritability, and dystonia.
- Computerized tomography (CT) revealed cerebral and cerebellar calcifications.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed signal abnormalities correlating with calcifications and additional T2-weighted hyperintensities.
Findings:
- The MRI findings suggest areas of absent signal due to calcifications.
- High-intensity signals on T2-weighted images, not seen on CT, are hypothesized to represent static fluid pools.
- These fluid pools are postulated to result from endothelial membrane incompetence and plasma leakage.
Implications:
- This case highlights unusual imaging findings in dementia.
- The proposed mechanism of endothelial incompetence offers a potential explanation for the observed pathology.
- Further research may elucidate the link between vascular integrity and cognitive decline in such cases.
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