ABeta amyloidosis, Iowa type

A form of hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis characterized by age of onset between 50-66 years of age, memory impairment, myoclonic jerks, expressive dysphagia, short-stepped gait, personality changes, and lobar intracerebral hemorrhages. This subtype is due to a mutation in the <i>APP</i> gene (21q21.2), encoding the beta-amyloid precursor protein. This mutation causes an increased accumulation of amyloid-beta protein in the walls of the arteries and capillaries of the meninges, cerebellar cortex and cerebral cortex, leading to the weakening and eventual rupture of these vessels.