Intracranial Arterial Aneurysmal Disease in Childhood

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have revealed that intracranial arterial aneurysms (IAAs) are responsible for 10–15 % of hemorrhagic stroke in children and young adults. If one differentiates the pattern and location of intracranial hemorrhage, the importance of IAAs as a cause of hemorrhagic stroke in children is even more apparent. For example, IAAs account for as much as 57 % of pure spontaneous SAH in the pediatric population. In the non-adult population, the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke due to IAAs is highest in patients 15–19 years of age. This is more than five times that observed in younger age groups. It has been proposed that conventional vascular risk factors, such as tobacco use and cocaine abuse, are introduced in late adolescence and likely account for the sharp increase in aneurysmal disease in the latter half of the second decade (Jordan et al. 2009).