Central Nervous System Vasculitis (central + nervous_system_vasculitis)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Cerebral vasculopathy does not equal primary central nervous system vasculitis

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Mitchell S. V. Elkind MD
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Primary central nervous system vasculitis: analysis of 101 patients

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2007
Carlo Salvarani MD
Objective To analyze the clinical findings, response to therapy, outcome, and incidence of primary central nervous system vasculitis (PCNSV) in a large cohort from a single center Methods We retrospectively studied 101 patients with PCNSV, selected by predetermined diagnostic criteria, who were seen during a 21-year period. This was a collaborative study by five departments at a large multispecialty clinic. Clinical findings and outcomes were compared among patients categorized by method of diagnosis, response to therapy, survival, and degree of disability. An annual incidence rate was calculated Results Seventy patients were diagnosed by angiography and 31 by central nervous system biopsy. Three histological patterns were observed during biopsy. Although most patients responded to therapy, an increased mortality rate was observed. Relapses occurred in one fourth of patients. Mortality rate and disability at last follow-up were greater in those who presented with a focal neurological deficit, cognitive impairment, cerebral infarctions, and angiographic large-vessel involvement but were lower in those with prominent gadolinium-enhanced lesions when evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. The annual incidence rate of PCNSV was 2.4 cases per 1,000,000 person-years Interpretation PCNSV is a rare disease that may result in serious neurological outcomes or death. Angiography and brain biopsy may complement each other when determining the diagnosis. Early recognition and treatment may reduce poor outcomes. PCNSV is a variable syndrome that appears to consist of several subsets of heterogeneous diseases. Ann Neurol 2007 [source]


Primary necrotizing lymphocytic central nervous system vasculitis due to perforin deficiency in a four-year-old girl

ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 3 2007
Despina Moshous
We report the case of a 4-year-old girl who presented with headaches, ataxia, and visual disturbances. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple supra- and infratentorial lesions with peripheral contrast enhancement and central necrosis. Brain biopsy revealed necrotizing lymphocytic vasculitis of undetermined etiology. Perforin expression was found to be significantly reduced in the patient's peripheral blood cells, and sequence analysis of the patient's perforin gene showed a compound heterozygous state with 1 nonsense mutation and 2 missense alterations in exon 2. Central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis was thus attributed to the perforin deficiency, and the patient was successfully treated by transplantation of stem cells from an HLA-identical brother. The findings described herein indicate that, even in the absence of classic non-neurologic symptoms of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, measurement of perforin expression should be one of the diagnostic tests used to identify the cause of unexplained CNS vasculitis, since this may have profound implications regarding therapy. [source]