Familial occurrence of cerebral cavernous malformation in a Chinese family and treated by Gamma Knife radiosurgery

Familial cerebral cavernous malformation (FCCM) is a rare autosomal dominant inherit vascular disorder of the central nerves system. The authors reviewed the literature and presented four members who harbored FCCM within a Chinese family: A 14-year-old male (proband, III-1) was admitted to our hospital for a sudden onset of headache and dizziness; his elder parental cousin(III-3) without any symptoms nor other medical history but multiple brain lesions were detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); his mother(II-2), a 38-year-old female, presented with recurrent headaches for more than 2 years. All of the three patients above were treated upfront with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS). Besides, the proband's paternal uncle (II-3) had previously undergone surgery and cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) was confirmed by the pathological examination. All the patients above are now leading a normal life with the condition and follow-up periodically.