There are a number of case studies and small case series of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) associated with cognitive impairment sufficient to amount to a dementia syndrome, with resolution of cognitive deficits following definitive treatment (surgical, endovascular) of the fistula [1-19]. Thus intracranial DAVF is recognised as a rare cause of reversible vascular dementia, through a presumed mechanism of intracerebral venous hypertension. However, accounts of the precise neuropsychological deficits in these patients and serial documentation of cognitive function are largely lacking, most reports focusing on the neuroradiology of the vascular anatomy and endovascular intervention. This may be due in part to the necessity for prompt therapeutic intervention when there is acute neurological deterioration [5], although at least some intracranial DAVF cases are associated with slowly progressive cognitive decline sufficient to suggest an initial differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementia [8, 9, 15, 16]. The label of 'thalamic dementia' has been used on occasion, based largely on neuroimaging findings of bilateral thalamic involvement.
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