Vaskulárna medicína 2/2022

Dural arteriovenous fistula as a cause of reversible dementia syndrome – neuroembolization therapy

Purpose: The term dementia comes from the Latin „de mentia“, which means „departing in spirit“. It refers to a mental illness characterized by a mostly incurable progressive decline in cognitive functions. The etiology of dementias is diverse. Dementia is always caused by organic factors. Dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) represents one of the few potentially curable and reversible causes of dementia syndrome. Case report: In the presented case report of a patient with the development of dementia and Parkinson’s syndrome incorrectly evaluated and treated as neurodegenerative disease of central nervous system (CNS). After the diagnosis of DAVF and successful endovascular treatment with an embolization agent, the symptoms disappeared and the patient‘s condition completely improved, without the need for further treatment. Dementia was caused by a decompensated dural fistula with difficult venous drainage from cortical veins. Conclusion: Dural fistula has various manifestations, it can mimic other diagnoses, therefore early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to better outcomes.

Keywords: dural arteriovenos fistula, dementia, venos drainage, embolisation