Distribution Pattern of Cerebral Aneurysms Has Remained Consistent Since 1761

MONDAY, June 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Since 1761, the distribution patterns of cerebral aneurysms (CAs), as well as age at aneurysm, has remained consistent, according to a study published online May 21 in BMJ Open.

Arjun Burlakoti, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, and colleagues conducted an observational, quantitative, and retrospective study involving 1,127 cases of CAs published from 1761 to 1938 and examined computed tomography angiography images of 173 patients at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) between 2011 and 2019 to examine patterns of distribution and trends of occurrence.

The researchers found that the age of patients identified from 1761 to 1938 varied from 18 months to 89 years; about 11.5 percent occurred in patients aged younger than 20 years. Of the 1,078 aneurysms for which location was reported, 76 and 24 percent were in the internal carotid (IC), middle cerebral (MC), and anterior communicating artery complex (AcomAC) regions and in the vertebrobasilar region, respectively. Ninety-four percent of the CAs in the 173 patients from RAH, aged 18 to 100 years, were found in the IC, MC, and AcomAC regions. From 1761 to 2019, the pattern of aneurysm occurrence and minimum and maximum ages remained consistent.

"The age and locations at which CAs occur in the cerebral basal arterial network has not changed over the past 260 years despite [the fact that] life expectancy has increased over time worldwide and the progress in medicine," the authors write.

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