[Clinico-morphologic correlations in cerebral infarction after recurrent hemorrhage].

Clinical-morphological analysis of cases in which, in the course of vasogenic necrotic brain lesion, hemorrhagic foci appeared within the infarcted area, was performed. The material comprised 355 cases with encephalomalacia (223 women and 123 men). The patients died at age between 39 and 96 years. In the clinical picture a sudden onset of the disease prevailed, with hemiparesis or hemiplegia associated in 216 cases with disturbances of consciousness. The course of the disease was in general progressive. Only in 30 patients improvement of clinical state was observed. The time of survival varied from several hours to several weeks. Most patients (140) died in the first week in deep cerebral coma or state of decerebration. In nine cases clinical symptomatology of herniation and secondary hemorrhages into the brain stem was found. A sudden onset and violent course of the disease resulted in a diagnosis of primary hemorrhage with penetration to the subarachnoid space or ventricular system in 32 patients. Only in six cases was a secondary hemorrhage into the primary infarction diagnosed clinically. Hemorrhagic malacia was most frequently (in 255 cases) located in region vascularized by the middle cerebral artery and very seldom, the basilar artery or cerebellar arteries. Malacia was accompanied by considerable brain edema. This was particularly intense in extensive infarctions and persisted even in cases with considerable long survival. In 45 cases secondary hemorrhagic foci were found within brain stem. The morphology of the infarction foci was variable in most cases. Independently to fresh unreactive diffuse necrosis, sometimes areas with various advancement of resorption and organization processes were observed in the same case. Both in areas of fresh reactionless malacia and of advanced macrophage-glial disintegration, or even in areas of advanced gliomesodermal organization, stand-like or spherical hemorrhages could be seen merging sometimes into extensive pools. The morphology of hemorrhagic foci was largely dependent on their size and localization. The hemorrhagic foci located close to the depth of the cortical sulci very often destroyed the cortex and white matter, and penetrated to the subarachnoid space (141 cases). In was usually almost impossible to detect the source of bleeding within the necrotically changed area. The resorption reaction at the edge of extensive hemorrhagic foci was in general minimal. A lesion of the vessel wall, caused by stasis of long duration, resulting from disorders of the vascular function in the course of defficient blood supply and ischemic brain edema are considered the main causes of bleeding into the pale infarction.