1/3. Circulating antineutrophil autoantibodies in a child with isolated central nervous system vasculitis.An 8-year old girl with history of twisted neck and painful swelling on the left side of the neck was found to have malfunction of glossopharyngeal and hypoglossal nerves on the left side. magnetic resonance angiography revealed a giant aneurysm of the internal carotid artery surrounded by a widespread inflammatory tumor. cerebral angiography disclosed a large, false aneurysm with almost complete compression of the internal carotid artery. Circulating antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (titer 1:2560) and high levels of antibodies against antiproteinase 3 were detectable. This observation indicates that these autoantibodies may be a diagnostic tool in children in whom an undiagnosed central nervous system inflammatory disease is present.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Meningoencephalomyelitis with vasculitis due to varicella zoster virus: a case report and review of the literature.Varicella zoster virus (VZV) encephalitis is associated with large or small vessel vasculopathy. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman with a history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and cancers of the breast and colon, who presented with a zosteriform rash and brown-sequard syndrome. Despite 10 days therapy with intravenous acyclovir, meningoencephalitis developed and the patient died 15 days after onset of neurological symptoms. autopsy showed meningoencephalomyelitis with necrotising vasculitis of leptomeningeal vessels, which is a rare complication of VZV, and we review the literature of the nine similar published cases. polymerase chain reaction of cerebrospinal fluid for VZV was negative 6 days after onset of neurological symptoms, but became positive by day 10. Only one multinucleated giant cell with intranuclear Cowdry type A inclusions was seen within an endothelial cell in a leptomeningeal vessel involved by vasculitis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. review of isolated ascending aortitis: differential diagnosis, including syphilitic, Takayasu's and giant cell aortitis.The image of tree-barking and proximal aortic root dilatation is firmly entrenched in the minds of practising pathologists as representing syphilis until proven otherwise. We discuss the differential diagnosis of syphilitic aortitis, Takayasu's disease, and giant cell aortitis, with a review of the literature and brief overview of other types of aortitis. As a starting point, we report a case of non-specific, or idiopathic, aortitis with aneurysm that was initially misdiagnosed as syphilitic aortitis. We then review the literature and emphasise the lack of histological data and histopathological criteria for the diagnosis of non-infectious aortitis and the implications for treatment in cases of isolated aortitis. Tree-barking is a non-specific finding in aortitis of any aetiology, and syphilitic aortitis in developed countries is rare. It is still unclear if there are histological features that separate Takayasu's disease and giant cell arteritis. In the majority of patients presenting with aortic root aneurysms, aortitis is an isolated finding not associated with autoimmune disease. Despite a plethora of literature, a histological classification of aortitis has yet to be attempted.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = giant (Clic here for more details about this article) |