Sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy with giant cell reaction.

We report a case of intracerebral hemorrhages due to sporadic cerebral amyloid angiopathy in a 43-year-old male with a luxuriant giant cell reaction. The amyloid was resistant to potassium permanganate-sulfuric acid oxidation and reacted with an antiserum to synthetic beta-protein. The distribution and histologic characteristics of the multinucleated giant cell reaction suggest that it represents a foreign-body reaction rather than giant cell arteritis.