Pregnancy linked to higher brain rupture risk in AVM cases

Pregnancy may significantly increase the risk of brain ruptures in women with arteriovenous malformations, according to findings presented at a major neurosurgery meeting.

The condition involves abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain that can rupture, potentially causing serious injury or death.

Researchers found that women with these malformations face a greater risk of rupture during pregnancy compared to non-pregnant women with the same condition.

The study examined whether pregnancy-related physical changes – such as hormonal shifts and increased blood volume – might worsen rupture risk in three brain conditions: arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), brain aneurysms, and cavernous malformations.

A team from the University of Mississippi Medical Center analysed 15 studies selected from 5,609 academic articles about pregnant women with these conditions, grouping patients based on whether or not they had experienced a rupture.

They found no significant increase in rupture risk during pregnancy for brain aneurysms or cavernous malformations. However, the risk was substantially higher in women with AVMs.

“These findings show that we still have much to learn about how pregnancy affects the brain,” said Evan Bowen, a medical student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“We need more research into these effects and their potential causes so that doctors can more precisely target how to treat pregnant women with these and other serious health conditions.”

The findings were presented at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s 22nd Annual Meeting.