Neuroradiological Findings in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy with a Particular Consideration of the Boston Criteria 2.0: An Imaging Review

Biomolecules. 2024 Nov 17;14(11):1459. doi: 10.3390/biom14111459.

Abstract

In the elderly, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the most common cause for intracranial lobar hemorrhages. CAA is caused by the accumulation of amyloid-β fibrils in cortical and leptomeningeal vessels. In 2022, the Boston Criteria 2.0 became the new diagnostic standard for CAA, following the Modified Boston Criteria of 2010. The diagnostic criteria are a composite of clinical, imaging and histopathological findings. In the latest version of the Boston Criteria, neuroradiological imaging findings were even expanded compared to the previous version. Crucially, the correct application of the diagnostic criteria is necessary to avoid over- and underdiagnosis. The aim of this review is to demonstrate the diagnostic criteria for CAA with an emphasis on typical imaging findings which are part of the Boston Criteria 2.0 and other imaging findings suggestive of CAA.

Keywords: Boston Criteria; CT; MRI; cerebral amyloid angiopathy; neuroimaging.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain / pathology
  • Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy* / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Neuroimaging / methods

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.