Brain vascular lesions: a clinicopathologic, immunohistochemistry, and ultrastructural approach.

Brain vascular malformations are relatively common lesions that cause serious neurologic disability or death in a significant proportion of individuals bearing them. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinicopathologic and immunohistochemistry these lesions, looking for common antibodies expressed such as CD31, CD34, CD15, factor VIII, nestin, vimentin, vascular endothelial grow factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial grow factor receptor-2 (VEGF-R2), glial fibrillar acidic protien (GFAP), and fibroblastic grow factor β (β-FGF) and ultrastructure in endothelial cells as well as in vessel walls. Fifty cases of vascular lesions were included in this study: 29 (58%) of them were arteriovenous malformations and 21 (52%) were brain cavernomas.