Venous Angioma Hemmorhage

[HStone]

At age 5 weeks my son Michael had a Venous Angioma hemmorhage, filling his 3rd and 4th ventricles with blood.  It was a one time event.  At 6 weeks the dr placed a shunt in Michael to help the flow of the cerebral fluid.  All went well and seemed ok until Michael was 1.5 years old, when he started having seizures.  We have been trying to control them ever since (that was in January of '06).  I would like to know if anyone else has had experience with a hemmorhaged Venous Angioma, and could it be the cause of the seizures?  The seizures are originating in the temporal lobes, but I believe the hemmorhage was in the posterior portion of the brain.  Michael is developmentally and speech delayed.  Any suggestions on what to do?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Venous angiomas are known to be present in children who present with epilepsy. But, surprisingly, there is no strong evidence which can prove Venous Angioma as the cause of seizures. The association remains to be explored.

How is young Michael now ? Has he started speaking short sentences yet  ?

Regards

[HStone]

Michael has several pat phrases that he uses, and will repeat almost anything you say to him.  He cannot answer questions (even as simple as 'how old are you?', or 'What's your name?').  He can express himself fairly well, but really only those things that he knows.  I am concerned obviously about the delays, but i really need to get the seizures under control.  he is having complex partial seizures every 3 - 4 days.  current meds are Trileptal and Depakote.  I really wonder if there is more to the Venous Angioma than i know, and because it hemmorhaged (very rare indeed) could that be effecting him?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Yes, the bleeding was a culprit. It hampered blood supply to some part for some short period. Usually that is sufficient for a seizure focus to develop.

Trileptal and Depakote are good u. But if they are not working on him, you will have to ask his neurologist to change them for him .

Regards