Diffuse central nervous system lupus involving white matter, basal ganglia, thalami and brainstem

Brain Dev. 1999 Jul;21(5):337-40. doi: 10.1016/s0387-7604(99)00027-3.

Abstract

We described an 11-year-old girl with acute central nervous system lupus showing diffuse lesions. She developed generalized convulsions followed by prolonged coma, and her psychomotor ability recovered fully after 3 months of steroid therapy. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed high signal intensity in the cerebral deep white matter, bilateral basal ganglia, thalami, and brainstem on T2-weighted image. These lesions resolved over 1 month with residual atrophic change in the heads of the caudate nucleus on MRI. Acute SLE leukoencephalopathy may be recognized as a subtype of CNS lupus.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Basal Ganglia / diagnostic imaging
  • Basal Ganglia / pathology*
  • Brain Stem / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Stem / pathology*
  • Central Nervous System / diagnostic imaging
  • Central Nervous System / pathology*
  • Child
  • Electroencephalography
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / diagnostic imaging
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / pathology*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Thalamus / diagnostic imaging
  • Thalamus / pathology*
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon