Walsh & Hoyt: Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: Topographic Diagnosis

The hallmark of occlusive disease of superficial cerebral veins is the occurrence of focal or generalized seizures caused by irritability of the cerebral cortex. Seizures are preceded in some cases by a prodrome of headache, weakness, numbness, or alterations in behavior and are usually followed by fluctuating focal neurologic deficits, the nature of which depends on the location of the occlusion. Associated sensory and motor disturbances are common and usually vary considerably from hour to hour and day to day.