SPONTANEOUS, non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in the adult is most commonly secondary to hypertensive cerebrovascular disease. In 70-90% of cases of spontaneous ICH, arterial hypertension is the presumed cause.1 These hypertensive hemorrhages show a predilection for certain anatomic locations: the basal ganglia (the putamen in particular), the subcortical white matter, and the thalamus account for 35%, 25%, and 20% of ICHs, respectively, whereas the posterior fossa locations, the cerebellum and pons, are responsible for only 10% and 5% of the cases.2 Irrespective of their anatomic locations, the common pathogenesis in these hemorrhages involves the hypertension-induced degeneration of the media of small (50-200 micra) arteries called "lypo-hyalinosis," 3 and/ or the formation of "microaneurysms", both of which occur preferentially in perforating or small sub-cortical arteries, thus resulting in the characteristic anatomic distribution of hypertensive ICH.A significant number of cases of ICH are due to causes other than hypertension. The frequency of such cases varies from 25% to 50% among series, and depends on the anatomic type of ICH being considered: non-hypertensive mechanisms may account for as many as 55% of "lobar" ICH cases, 4 ' 3 while pontine hemorrhage is virtually always (90%) hypertensive, and the deep ganglionic (putaminal, thalamic) and cerebellar varieties occupy an intermediate position (35%, 25%, and 38% being of non-hypertensive mechanism, respectively). Among the many possible mechanisms of ICH not primarily related to hypertension, there are several that occur with high enough frequency to warrant separate discussion. These causes of ICH are related to special types of arterial pathology, to the presence of brain tumors, or to the use of medications, and include: cerebral amyloid angiopathy, small vascular malformations, primary or metastatic brain tumors, oral anticoagulants, and amphetamines and a variety of other sympathomimetic drugs.
Cerebral Amyloid AngiopathyThis condition is a unique form of angiopathy due to deposits of amyloid in the media and adventitia of