Author Interviews, JAMA, Surgical Research / 22.04.2014
Brain AV Malformations: Conservative Treatment May Be Best For Stable Lesions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Rustam Al-Shahi Salman
Professor of clinical neurology and MRC senior clinical fellow
University of Edinburgh
Honorary consultant neurologist, NHS Lothian
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Prof. Al-Shahi Salman: Patients with arteriovenous malformations (abnormal connection between arteries and veins) in the brain that have not ruptured had a lower risk of stroke or death for up to 12 years if they received conservative management of the condition compared to an interventional treatment.
Interventional treatment for brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs)
with procedures such as neurosurgical excision, endovascular
embolization, or stereotactic radiosurgery can be used alone or in
combination to attempt to obliterate bAVMs. Because interventions may
have complications and the untreated clinical course of unruptured
bAVMs can be benign, some patients choose conservative management (no
intervention). Guidelines have endorsed both intervention and
conservative management for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations. Whether conservative management is superior to interventional treatment for unruptured
bAVMs is uncertain because of the lack of long-term experience,
according to background information in the article.
(more…)