Familial cavernous malformations in a large French kindred: mapping of the gene to the CCM1 locus on chromosome 7q.

Objectives: To characterise clinically a large French family affected with cerebral cavernomas and to check for linkage of this condition to chromosome 7.

Methods: A family, originating from Normandy and in which five members had undergone surgery for cavernomas, was extended. All members older than 18 were studied clinically and by neuroimaging.

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in cerebral cavernomas: an immunocytochemical study of 42 cases.

Background: The natural history and growth mechanisms of cerebral cavernous angiomas are unclear, which makes them difficult to manage. We attempted to evaluate the evolutive potential of cavernomas by studying the proliferative capacity of cells.

Methods: We studied 42 histologically verified cavernomas with monoclonal antibody to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), an accessory protein of the cell cycle, the rate of which is increased in proliferative cells.