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(Stroke. 2009;40:S16.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Neurovascular Unit

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Progressive Disruption of the Neurovascular Unit

Gregory J. Zipfel, MD; Henry Han, PhD; Andria L. Ford, MD Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD

From the Department of Neurosurgery (G.J.Z., H.H.), the Department of Neurology (G.J.Z., A.L.F., J.-M.L.), and the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders (G.J.Z., J.-M.L.), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

Correspondence to Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8111, St. Louis, MO 63124. E-mail leejm{at}wustl.edu

Cellular elements of the neurovascular unit are essential for the physiological functioning of brain vessels. If any of these vascular elements are disturbed the consequences can be dire. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a disorder caused by the accumulation of amyloid in cerebral vessels, provides a case study of progressive neurovascular unit dysfunction leading to failure of vascular reactivity, smooth muscle cell loss, and eventual frank breakdown of vessel integrity resulting in recurrent and sometimes fatal intracerebral hemorrhage.

Key Words: amyloid angiography • neurovascular unit