• Sarah Steinvorth, Frederik Wenz, Susanne Wildermuth, Marco Essig, Martin Fuss, Frank Lohr, Jürgen Debus, Michael Wannenmacher, and Werner Hacke.
• Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
• Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2002 Dec 1; 54 (5): 1430-7.

PurposeTo evaluate the long-term cognitive function of patients with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) after radiosurgery.Methods And MaterialsThe data of 95 AVM patients were prospectively assessed up to 3 years after radiosurgery. Of these patients, 39 had a follow-up of at least 2 years. Radiosurgery was performed using a modified linear accelerator (minimal doses to the target volume 15-22 Gy, median dose 20). The neuropsychological evaluation included testing of intelligence, attention, and memory. The effect of a preexisting intracranial hemorrhage, as well as AVM occlusion, on cognitive functions was analyzed after 1 and 2 years.ResultsNo cognitive declines were observed during follow-up. Instead significant improvements occurred in intelligence (1 year, +6.1 IQ points; 2 years, +5.1 IQ points), memory (1 year, +18.3 percentile score; 2 years, +12.2 percentile score), and attention (1 year, +19 percentile score; 2 years, +18 percentile score). Patients without previous intracranial hemorrhage improved more than patients with intracranial hemorrhage, although this difference was not statistically significant. The role of AVM occlusion on cognitive function is not clear at present.ConclusionRadiosurgery does not induce measurable deterioration of cognitive function in patients with cerebral AVMs.

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