Iatrogenic Amyloid Angiopathy Shows Higher Amyloid Burden Than Sporadic Cases

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a significant cause of small vessel disease, often manifesting as intracerebral hemorrhage, transient neurological episodes, or cognitive decline [1, 2]. While typically associated with advanced age and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele, CAA is increasingly understood as a heterogeneous condition with multiple pathological drivers [3, 4]. Advanced neuroimaging, particularly amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), is crucial for distinguishing CAA from other conditions like Alzheimer’s disease [5, 6]. However, the identification of iatrogenic cases linked to historical medical procedures has raised urgent questions about whether this mode of exogenous amyloid transmission produces a distinct clinical and biological phenotype [7, 8]. A recent study provides a detailed comparison of amyloid burden and fluid biomarkers between these iatrogenic and sporadic forms, offering new clarity on their divergent pathologies.