The case for family screening for intracranial aneurysms

Given that relatives of patients with intracranial aneurysms (IAs) or subarachnoid hemorrhage have a greater risk of harboring an aneurysm, family screening has become a common practice in neurosurgery. Unclear data exist regarding who should be screened and at what age and interval screening should occur. Multiple factors including the natural history of IAs, the risk of treatment, the cost of screening, and the psychosocial impact of finding an aneurysm should be taken into account when family screening is considered. In this paper, the authors review the current literature regarding risk factors and natural history of sporadic and familial aneurysms. Based on these data the authors assess current recommendations for screening and propose their own recommendations.

What to Do When the Doctor Sees Double: Identical Twins with Nearly Identical Aneurysms

This report details the case of identical twins, both of whom had an aneurysm in the same anatomic location. Such aneurysms should be considered as a discrete subset of familial aneurysms. The implications for patient management are discussed.

De novo formation and rupture of an azygos pericallosal artery aneurysm

✓ An azygos pericallosal artery (APCA) aneurysm is a rare anomaly that is closely associated with saccular aneurysms. This is the earliest report to document de novo formation and rupture of an aneurysm at the bifurcation of an unpaired pericallosal trunk. The authors report the case of a woman who presented at the age of 52 years with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from the rupture of a newly formed APCA bifurcation aneurysm, 7 years after she had undergone surgery to clip a ruptured anterior cerebral artery aneurysm. De novo formation of aneurysms after SAH rarely occurs and certain risk factors like multiple and familial aneurysms, arterial hypertension, or smoking have been postulated. Late follow-up examination with angiography to detect de novo aneurysms should be considered in patients with this vascular anomaly after SAH.