Background: Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic inflammatory idiopathic disease involving large arteries like the aorta and its primary branches. Cell-mediated autoimmunity leading to vascular injury has been suspected in its pathogenesis although the antigen inducing the process remains unknown.
Case report: A 50-year-old male patient suffered from acute hemiballism. Neuroimaging showed an infarction of right temporal insular cortex. Neurosonology and MR-Angiography revealed bilateral long-distant subtotal stenosis of the common carotid artery and left-sided occlusion of the subclavian artery. Positive hepatitis B serology with active viral replication was found. In the absence of other vasculitis or inflammation markers, Takayasu's arteritis was diagnosed and steroid therapy was started.
Conclusions: Unilateral insular lesions may lead to transient hemiballistic movements which could be the result of decreased inhibitory output of the insula to basal ganglia. The hepatitis B virus possibly contains a surface antigen inducing a specific cellular immune response leading to Takayasu's arteritis.