Biopsy-Proven Amyloid-Beta Related Angiitis with Unusual Presentation and Long-Term Follow-Up.

Amyloid-beta related angiitis (ABRA) is a rare central nervous system inflammatory and vasculitic process. It is seen in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and thought to be mediated by an autoimmune reaction against cerebrovascular ß-amyloid. We describe the case of a patient with ABRA with clinical information and brain imaging over a 10-year period. The patient was hospitalized in 2018 for altered mental status, paranoia and hallucinations. Her symptoms started in 2009 with an episode of vertigo and loss of consciousness. From 2011-2019, she had multiple episodes of transient focal neurological deficits with overall cumulative progressive decline in cognition and functional status. Retrospective and comparative reviews of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 2009-2019 showed waxing and waning vasogenic cerebral edema with overall progression of white matter hyperintensities and peripheral micro-hemorrhages consistent with inflammatory CAA. Re-examination of a brain biopsy from 2009 showed ABRA, and immunostaining was positive for ß-amyloid. She was treated with intravenous steroids with minimal symptomatic improvement. She was lost to our follow-up after hospital discharge. We describe the temporal progression of ABRA through serial brain imaging over a 10-year period. To our knowledge, this is the longest published follow-up duration of ABRA. The patient in our case had severe cognitive impairment and disability despite treatment with steroids.

A Case of Salicylate Toxicity Presenting with Acute Focal Neurologic Deficit in a 61-Year-Old Woman with a History of Stroke.

BACKGROUND Over-the-counter medications that contain aspirin are widely used, and patients generally regard them as safe. However, the side effects of salicylate toxicity can be severe, and delay in the diagnosis may increase the risk of mortality. Neurologic symptoms are a common presenting feature of salicylate toxicity in the elderly, and their recognition may allow earlier diagnosis. This report is of a case of a 61-year-old woman who presented with acute focal neurologic deficit associated with salicylate toxicity and who had a previous history of stroke. CASE REPORT A 61-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department after awakening with left-sided weakness. She had a history of ischemic stroke with an associated seizure disorder. The patient denied recent seizure, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no evidence of an acute stroke. Following her arrival, she became acutely confused and complained of tinnitus, shortness of breath, and blurred vision. On direct questioning, she gave a history of excessive use of salicylate for the previous two to three weeks. Her initial serum salicylate level was significantly increased at 78.1 mg/dl (upper therapeutic limit, 19.9 mg/dl). She recovered completely following treatment with oral activated charcoal, intravenous sodium bicarbonate, and potassium replacement. CONCLUSIONS This case demonstrates that physicians should consider salicylate toxicity as a possible cause of exacerbation of neurological deficit in elderly patients.

Multinodular and Vacuolating Neuronal Tumor: A Rare Seizure-associated Entity.

Multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumor is a recently described seizure-associated entity with overlapping features of a malformative and neoplastic process. We report a case of multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumor in a 29-year-old man with a history of recent headaches and complex partial seizures. Neuroimaging revealed a nonenhancing, T2 and T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintense multinodular lesion in the right temporal lobe. Lesional tissue demonstrated well-demarcated nodules of ganglioid cells with vacuolation of both the perikarya and the fibrillary neuropil-like background. The ganglioid cells showed weak cytoplasmic reactivity for synaptophysin and were nonreactive for neurofilament and chromogranin. CD34-positive stellate cells were present within the nodules. A 50-gene next-generation sequencing panel did not identify any somatic mutations in genomic DNA extracted from the tumor.

Effects of Age, Gender and Hemispheric Location on T2 Hypointensity in the Pulvinar at 3T.

Pulvinar signal intensity decrease on T2-weighted images has been reported in some neurological abnormalities. We aimed to define the normal T2 signal hypointensity pattern present in the pulvinar to avoid erroneous radiological interpretation. One hundred and forty-two subjects (54 men and 88 women; age range 9-91 years) with unremarkable brain 3T MR findings were enrolled. MR images were analyzed with regard to signal intensity of the pulvinar relative to the thalamus on fluid attenuated inversion recovery images. Effects of age, gender and hemispheric location on the degree of T2 hypointensity were statistically analyzed. The statistical association was measured between the pattern of signal changes in the pulvinar region and that in the putamen and the globus pallidus. We detected a linear signal decrease in the pulvinar region with age. The male subjects had a more rapid decrease of signal with age than female subjects. The right pulvinar region had a higher chance of hypointensity compared to the left. A positive linear association was found when signal change from the pulvinar region was compared with signal in the putamen and globus pallidus. We detected a linear signal decrease with age in the pulvinar. The physiological signal features of the pulvinar also depend on gender and hemispheric lateralization. The pattern of signal change in the pulvinar is similar to but not the same as that in the putamen and globus pallidus.