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Cerebral venous thrombosis in young adults

Experience in a stroke unit, 1988–1994

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Abstract

We report a series of nine patients younger than 45 years with angiographically-documented cerebral venous thrombosis, consecutively referred to our Stroke Unit from 1988 to 1994. Two of them were men and seven women. Eight patients initially complained of headache, often associated with other symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. Seven patients had focal motor deficits and four suffered from epileptic seizures. None of the patients died. Only one patient remained severely disabled, whereas the others recovered self-sufficiency within two months. The use of oral contraceptives was closely associated with the occurrence of venous thrombosis in the women.

Cerebral venous thrombosis is to be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of stroke in the young.

Sommario

Descriviamo 9 casi di trombosi dei seni venosi cerebrali di età inferiore a 45 anni, ricoverati consecutivamente nel nostro reparto dal 1988 al 1994. Due erano uomini e sette donne. In otto la cefalea era stata il sintomo iniziale, spesso associata ad altri segni di ipertensione endocranica. Sette pazienti avevano deficit motori focali e quattro crisi comiziali. Nessun paziente è deceduto e solamente uno è rimasto gravemente disabile, mentre gli altri hanno recuperato la autosufficienza in due mesi. Nelle donne l'uso di contraccettivi orali sembrava essere fortemente associato con la trombosi dei seni venosi.

La trombosi venosa cerebrale va sempre ricordata nella diagnosi differenziale dell'ictus nei pazienti giovani.

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Partziguian, T., Camerlingo, M., Casto, L. et al. Cerebral venous thrombosis in young adults. Ital J Neuro Sci 17, 419–422 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01997716

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