Hemangiomas of the central nervous system in Japan: an epidemiological and clinicopathological study with special reference to venous and cavernous malformations.

Our experiences with cerebrovascular malformations in Japanese patients have been reviewed, presenting 29 cases of venous malformation, 30 cases of cavernous angiomas and one case of capillary telangiectasis. We also present the data from the 763 cases of AVM obtained in the cooperative studies which were supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, and discussed the epidemiological and clinicopathological aspects in relation to those reported in the literature. The cooperative studies on these subjects were primarily done in conjunction with the investigation of Moya-Moya disease which is by far frequently found in Japan. Regarding the vascular malformations of the C.N.S., there seem to be no noticeable differences in the epidemiological aspects as seen in Japan and in other countries. It should be stressed also from our experiences that all kinds of vascular malformation, either intracranial or intraspinal, bleed probably more often than we expect. Neurosurgeons should pay more careful attention to these vascular malformations with appropriate concepts of the disease.