Neuropathological correlates of cortical superficial siderosis in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Abstract Cortical superficial siderosis is an established haemorrhagic neuroimaging marker of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. In fact, cortical superficial siderosis is emerging as a strong independent risk factor for future lobar intracerebral haemorrhage. However, the underlying neuropathological correlates and pathophysiological mechanisms of cortical superficial siderosis remain elusive. Here we use an in vivo MRI, ex vivo MRI, histopathology approach to assess the neuropathological correlates and vascular pathology underlying cortical superficial siderosis. Fourteen autopsy cases with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (mean age at death 73 years, nine males) and three controls (mean age at death 91 years, one male) were included in the study. Intact formalin-fixed cerebral hemispheres were scanned on a 3 T MRI scanner. Cortical superficial siderosis was assessed on ex vivo gradient echo and turbo spin echo MRI sequences and compared to findings on available in vivo MRI. Subsequently, 11 representative areas in four cases with available in vivo MRI scans were sampled for histopathological verification of MRI-defined cortical superficial siderosis. In addition, samples were taken from predefined standard areas of the brain, blinded to MRI findings. Serial sections were stained for haematoxylin and eosin and Perls’ Prussian blue, and immunohistochemistry was performed against amyloid-β and GFAP. Cortical superficial siderosis was present on ex vivo MRI in 8/14 cases (57%) and 0/3 controls (P = 0.072). Histopathologically, cortical superficial siderosis corresponded to iron-positive haemosiderin deposits in the subarachnoid space and superficial cortical layers, indicative of chronic bleeding events originating from the leptomeningeal vessels. Increased severity of cortical superficial siderosis was associated with upregulation of reactive astrocytes. Next, cortical superficial siderosis was assessed on a total of 65 Perls’-stained sections from MRI-targeted and untargeted sampling combined in cerebral amyloid angiopathy cases. Moderate-to-severe cortical superficial siderosis was associated with concentric splitting of the vessel wall (an advanced form of cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related vascular damage) in leptomeningeal vessels (P < 0.0001), but reduced cerebral amyloid angiopathy severity in cortical vessels (P = 0.048). In terms of secondary tissue injury, moderate-to-severe cortical superficial siderosis was associated with the presence of microinfarcts (P = 0.025), though not microbleeds (P = 0.973). Collectively, these data suggest that cortical superficial siderosis on MRI corresponds to iron-positive deposits in the superficial cortical layers, representing the chronic manifestation of bleeding episodes from leptomeningeal vessels. Cortical superficial siderosis appears to be the result of predominantly advanced cerebral amyloid angiopathy of the leptomeningeal vessels and may trigger secondary ischaemic injury in affected areas.

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P4-196: Clinical Impacts of Cortical Superficial Siderosis in Patients With Clinically Diagnosed Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2016.06.2288 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. P1099-P1099

Author(s):

Young Kyoung Jang ◽

Hee Jin Kim ◽

Yeo Jin Kim ◽

Jin San Lee ◽

Juyoun Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Superficial Siderosis ◽

Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Cerebral Amyloid ◽

Cortical Superficial Siderosis

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Cortical superficial siderosis and bleeding risk in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000008590 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 93 (24) ◽

pp. e2192-e2202 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Andreas Charidimou ◽

Gregoire Boulouis ◽

Steven M. Greenberg ◽

Anand Viswanathan

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Bleeding Risk ◽

Superficial Siderosis ◽

Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Class Iii ◽

Cerebral Amyloid ◽

T2 Mri ◽

Cortical Superficial Siderosis

ObjectiveTo assess the association of cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) presence and extent with future bleeding risk in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).MethodsThis was a meta-analysis of clinical cohorts of symptomatic patients with CAA who had T2*-MRI at baseline and clinical follow-up for future intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We pooled data in a 2-stage meta-analysis using random effects models. Covariate-adjusted hazard ratios (adjHR) from multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used.ResultsWe included data from 6 eligible studies (n = 1,239). cSS pooled prevalence was 34% (95% confidence interval [CI] 26%–41%; I2 87.94%; p < 0.001): focal cSS prevalence was 14% (95% CI 12%–16%; I2 6.75%; p = 0.37), and disseminated cSS prevalence was 20% (95% CI 13%–26%; I2 90.39%; p < 0.001). During a mean follow-up of 3.1 years (range 1–4 years), 162/1,239 patients experienced a symptomatic ICH-pooled incidence rate 6.9% per year (95% CI 3.9%–9.8% per year; I2 83%; p < 0.001). ICH incidence rates per year according to cSS status were 3.9% (95% CI 1.7%–6.1%; I2 70%; p = 0.018) for patients without cSS, 11.1% (95% CI 7%–15.2%; I2 56.8%; p = 0.074) for cSS presence, 9.1% (95% CI 5.5%–12.8%; I2 0%; p = 0.994) for focal cSS, and 12.5% (95% CI 5.3%–19.7%; I2 73.2%; p = 0.011) for disseminated cSS. In adjusted pooled analysis, any cSS presence was independently associated with increased future ICH risk (adjHR 2.14; 95% CI 1.19–3.85; p < 0.0001). Focal cSS was linked with ICH risk (adjHR 2.11; 95% CI 1.31–2.41; p = 0.002), while disseminated cSS conferred the strongest bleeding risk (adjHR 4.28; 95% CI 2.91–6.30; p < 0.0001).ConclusionIn patients with CAA, cSS presence and extent are the most important MRI prognostic risk factors for future ICH, likely useful in treatment planning.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class III evidence that in symptomatic CAA survivors with baseline T2*-MRI, cSS (particularly if disseminated, i.e., affecting >3 sulci) increases the risk of future ICH.

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Clinical and radiological differences between patients with probable cerebral amyloid angiopathy and mixed cerebral microbleeds

Journal of Neurology ◽

10.1007/s00415-020-10038-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 267 (12) ◽

pp. 3602-3608 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ulf R. Jensen-Kondering ◽

Caroline Weiler ◽

Patrick Langguth ◽

Naomi Larsen ◽

Charlotte Flüh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Cerebral Microbleeds ◽

Superficial Siderosis ◽

Periventricular White Matter ◽

Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Imaging Features ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Comprehensive Comparison ◽

Cerebral Amyloid ◽

Cortical Superficial Siderosis

Abstract Background The key imaging features of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) are lobar, cortical, or cortico-subcortical microbleeds, macrohaemorrhages and cortical superficial siderosis (cSS). In contrast, hypertensive angiopathy is characterized by (micro) haemorrhages in the basal ganglia, thalami, periventricular white matter or the brain stem. Another distinct form of haemorrhagic microangiopathy is mixed cerebral microbleeds (mixed CMB) with features of both CAA and hypertensive angiopathy. The distinction between the two entities (CAA and mixed CMB) is clinically relevant because the risk of haemorrhage and stroke should be well balanced if oral anticoagulation is indicated in CAA patients. We aimed to comprehensively compare these two entities. Methods Patients with probable CAA according to the modified Boston criteria and mixed CMB without macrohaemorrhage were retrospectively identified from our database. Comprehensive comparison regarding clinical and radiological parameters was performed between the two cohorts. Results Patients with CAA were older (78 ± 8 vs. 74 ± 9 years, p = 0.036) and had a higher prevalence of cSS (19% vs. 4%, p = 0.027) but a lower prevalence of lacunes (73% vs. 50%, p = 0.018) and deep lacunes (23% vs. 51%, p = 0.0003) compared to patients with mixed CMB. Logistic regression revealed an association between the presence of deep lacunes and mixed CMB. The other collected parameters did not reveal a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions CAA and mixed CMB demonstrate radiological differences in the absence of macrohaemorrhages. However, more clinically available biomarkers are needed to elucidate the contribution of CAA and hypertensive angiopathy in mixed CMB patients.

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Cortical superficial siderosis progression in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000009321 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 94 (17) ◽

pp. e1853-e1865 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thanakit Pongpitakmetha ◽

Panagiotis Fotiadis ◽

Marco Pasi ◽

Gregoire Boulouis ◽

Li Xiong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Ordinal Scale ◽

Superficial Siderosis ◽

Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Multivariable Logistic Regression ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Cerebral Amyloid ◽

Cortical Superficial Siderosis

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence, predictors, and clinical relevance of cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) progression in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).MethodsConsecutive patients with symptomatic CAA meeting Boston criteria in a prospective cohort underwent baseline and follow-up MRI within 1 year. cSS progression was evaluated on an ordinal scale and categorized into mild (score 1–2 = cSS extension within an already present cSS focus or appearance of 1 new cSS focus) and severe progression (score 3–4 = appearance of ≥2 new cSS foci). Binominal and ordinal multivariable logistic regression were used to determine cSS progression predictors. We investigated future lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) risk in survival analysis models.ResultsWe included 79 patients with CAA (mean age, 69.2 years), 56 (71%) with lobar ICH at baseline. cSS progression was detected in 23 (29%) patients: 15 (19%) patients had mild and 8 (10%) severe progression. In binominal multivariable logistic regression, ICH presence (odds ratio [OR], 7.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75–53.52; p = 0.016) and baseline cSS (OR, 10.41; 95% CI, 2.84–52.83; p = 0.001) were independent predictors of cSS progression. In similar models, presence of disseminated (but not focal) cSS at baseline (OR, 5.58; 95% CI, 1.81–19.41; p = 0.004) was an independent predictor of cSS progression. Results were similar in ordinal multivariable logistic regression models. In multivariable Cox regression analysis, severe cSS progression was independently associated with increased future ICH risk (HR, 5.90; 95% CI, 1.30–26.68; p = 0.021).ConclusionscSS evolution on MRI is common in patients with symptomatic CAA and might be a potential biomarker for assessing disease severity and future ICH risk. External validation of these findings is warranted.

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Cortical superficial siderosis multifocality in cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Neurology ◽

10.1212/wnl.0000000000004665 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 89 (21) ◽

pp. 2128-2135 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Andreas Charidimou ◽

Gregoire Boulouis ◽

Duangnapa Roongpiboonsopit ◽

Eitan Auriel ◽

Marco Pasi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Interrater Reliability ◽

Superficial Siderosis ◽

Amyloid Angiopathy ◽

Recurrence Rates ◽

Rating Method ◽

Cerebral Amyloid ◽

Annual Risk ◽

Cortical Superficial Siderosis

Objective:In order to explore the mechanisms of cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) multifocality and its clinical implications for recurrent intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) risk in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), we used a new rating method that we developed specifically to evaluate cSS extent at spatially separated foci.Methods:Consecutive patients with CAA-related ICH according to Boston criteria from a single-center prospective cohort were analyzed. The new score that assesses cSS multifocality (total range 0–4) showed excellent interrater reliability (k = 0.87). The association of cSS with markers of CAA and acute ICH was investigated. Patients were followed prospectively for recurrent symptomatic ICH.Results:The cohort included 313 patients with CAA. Multifocal cSS prevalence was 21.1%. APOE ε2 allele prevalence was higher in patients with multifocal cSS. In probable/definite CAA, cSS multifocality was independently associated with neuroimaging markers of CAA severity, including lobar microbleeds, but not with acute ICH features, which conversely, were determinants of cSS in possible CAA. During a median follow-up of 2.6 years (interquartile range 0.9–5.1 years), the annual ICH recurrence rates per cSS scores (0–4) were 5%, 6.5%, 13.5%, 16.2%, and 26.9%, respectively. cSS multifocality (presence and spread) was the only independent predictor of increased symptomatic ICH risk (hazard ratio 3.19; 95% confidence interval 1.77–5.75; p < 0.0001).Conclusions:The multifocality of cSS correlates with disease severity in probable CAA; therefore cSS is likely to be caused by discrete hemorrhagic foci. The new cSS scoring system might be valuable for clinicians in determining annual risk of ICH recurrence.

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