Capillary Telangiectasia

Telangiectasia Permanent dilation of preexisting small blood vessels (capillaries, arterioles, and venules), usually in the skin or mucous membranes, which presents as a coarse or fine red mark. 

Telangiectasias are collections of dilated capillaries that are usually of no clinical significance (Milandre et al. 1987). They may be associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (the Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome), but this is more likely to be associated with neurological complications from a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation with right-to-left shunting, such as cerebral hypoxia, brain abscess, paradoxical and septic embolism, or from an associated intracranial arteriovenous malformation or aneurysm (McDonald et al. 1998). 

On closer examination, or rubbing away the surface with a file or emery board, small black spots (telangiectasia, the ends of broken blood capillaries) can be seen. 

There is one product containing an abrasive licensed for acne treatment. It contains small, gritty particles in a skin wash, intended to remove follicular plugs mechanically. It is contraindicated in the presence of superficial venules or capillaries (telangiectasia), and overenthusiastic use can cause irritation. There is little evidence of the effectiveness of abrasive preparations in acne. 

Capillary telangiectasia Pons brainstem CNS Thin-walled dilated capillaries within brain parenchyma... 

The authors postulated that the combination of radiation and local stress after mastectomy may have resulted in increased capillary fragility, which was exacerbated by felodipine. Truncal telangiectasia has been reported with felodipine. 

Capillary telangiectasias are composed of multiple thin-walled vascular channels between normal brain parenchyma Diagnosis of capillary telangiectasias is made with MRI. Non-specific symptoms maybe associated, tinnitus being more common Therapy and follow-up of capillary telangiectasias is not necessary... 

Vascular malformations of the brain are usually divided into arteriovenous malformations, capillary telangiectasias, venous malformations, and cavernous malformations. However, for a long time, the term angiographically occult vascular malformation or cryptic (Cohen et al. 1982 Dillon 1997 Wilson 1992) has been used to describe those vascular malformations that could not be visualized angiographically, but obviously were able to cause intracerebral hemorrhage. 

The diameter of the blood vessels lies within the range 30-50 pm. No brain tissue is present between the blood cavities, which are embedded into connective tissue. This is from a histopathological point of view the major difference between cavernomas and capillary telangiectasias. In the latter, there is intervening brain parenchyma between the vascular channels. However, since Rigamonti et al. (1987, 1988) found more than 30% incidence of intervening brain parenchyma in more or less typical caverno-... 

Capillary telangiectasias are a distinct category of cerebral vascular malformations, consisting of localized collections of multiple thin-walled vascular channels interposed between normal brain parenchyma. They were first described in 1959 (Russell and Rubinstein 1989) and are characterized by small capillaries with a maximum di-... 

The true incidence of capillary malformations or telangiectasias of the brain is difficult to discern because the vast majority are obviously clinically asymptomatic. Estimates from autopsy series suggest they are not uncommon, representing approximately 16%-20% of all CNS vascular malformations (Chaloupka and Huddle 1998). Capillary telangiectasias, although known to occur throughout the brain and spine, are most frequently found within the striate pons and are the most frequent incidental vascular malformation of the pons at autopsy (Russell and Rubinstein 1959 McCormick et al. 1968). Other locations are the basal ganglia, where they usually cause confusion because of their enhancement and the lack of mass effect (Castillo et al. 2001). 

Several authors found an association of capillary telangiectasias with cavernomas in their patients (Kuker et al. 2000), or suggested that both vascular ahnormalities have a common origin (Rigamonti et al. 1991). However, in contrast to cavernomas, the occurrence of capillary telangiectasias seems to be... 

The rarity of in vivo histologic verification indicates that the benign clinical behavior and the critical anatomic localization of brainstem capillary telangiectasias do not allow stereotactic biopsy on a regular basis. The earlier case reports relied on histologic examinations of cadaver specimens. 

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Rendu-Osler disease) is not associated with cerebral capillary telangiectasia, but with other forms of cerebral vascular malformations (Maher et al. 2001), mainly true pial arteriovenous malformations, dural arteriovenous malformations, and, rarely, cavernomas. 

Capillary telangiectasias are vascular malformations of unknown origin and unknown clinical significance (Rigamonti et al. 1991 Awad et al. 1993). In vivo diagnosis is only possible with MRI because these lesions are so small that they are undetectable by either conventional angiography or CT (Barr et al. 1996). Furthermore, slow blood flow may also contribute to the lack of angiographic opacification. 

Most capillary telangiectasia are incidental findings on examinations performed for other reasons than brainstem symptoms. In general, the clinical manifestations related to capillary malformations are variable, although typically they are regarded as quiescent lesions occasionally presenting with headache, confusion, weakness, dizziness, visual... 

The number of observations of presumed brainstem capillary telangiectasias is limited. There are only two reports of MRI features in a larger group of patients (Barr et al. 1996 Lee et al. 1997). These 30 cases seem to have very similar imaging findings. With two exceptions, all were located in the brainstem with a predominance of the mid-pons. 

MRI is the imaging modality of choice for the evaluation of brainstem lesions in general (Kuker et al. 2000) and is the only tool by which capillary telangiectasias can be visualized during life. 

A highly suggestive feature of a capillary telangiectasia is the presence of a larger, easily detectable draining vein (Kuker et al. 2000 Barr et al. 1996). 

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