Major cerebral arterial and venous disease in osteopetrosis.

Two patients with osteopetrosis were studied in whom severe stenosis of one or both internal carotid arteries was demonstrated. One patient had autosomal dominant osteopetrosis and the other patient had the autosomal recessive form of the disease. In one patient, probable occlusion of one internal jugular vein and retrograde thrombosis of the contributing dural venous sinuses was present. Venous drainage of parts of the brain occurred through dilated emissary and scalp veins. It appears that major extracranial vessels may be impinged upon by dysplastic bone in osteopetrosis, although this is the first report of such an occurrence. A posterior fossa aneurysm was present in one case, and may have been related to abnormal intracranial hemodynamics.