Introduction:

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon cause of cerebrovascular disease that mainly affects children and young adults, mostly in fertile-age-women.

Objectives:

A contemporary review of the epidemiological, anatomical, pathophysiological, diagnostic and treatment characteristics of CVT.

Materials and methods:

A bibliographic research was performed in the PubMed / MEDLINE database and including studies published in the period 2015-2020.

Development:

The estimated-annual-incidence has been increasing in last years. Its diagnosis is established by clinical studies and neuroimaging, and laboratory studies. Although, the diagnosis is generally late due to a highly variable and nonspecific clinical presentation. Treatment target is preventing potential mortal complications, followed by anticoagulant therapy. In some cases, surgical thrombolytic procedures are indicated.

Conclusions:

The diagnosis is based on a combination of MRI or CT studies. The current gold-standard treatment is low molecular weight heparin and warfarin.