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A 49-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency room with the left-sided frust hemiparesis and hemihypoesthesia. She has been experiencing intermittent cough, general weakness, and body pain for the past year. Cranial diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an acute infarct in the right occipital lobe. Chest X-ray showed bilateral hilar fullness. Mediastinal lymphadenopathy, bilateral micronodular parenchymal infiltrations, thickening of the major fissure and multiple linear reticulonodular patterns were observed on high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT). Laboratory tests showed a sedimentation rate of 44 mm/1 h; positivity for SS-A, SS-B, Ro-52 recombinant AMA-M2 (+++) direct Coombs IgG, anti-beta-2 glycoprotein 1 IgG and high serum ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) level. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/CT showed pathological uptake in the mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes, ground-glass opacity infiltration located in the bilateral lungs and intramedullary bone uptake. Bone marrow biopsy revealed noncaseating granulomas. With the diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis (NS), oral corticosteroid and azathioprine were administered. Sarcoidosis is a chronic, idiopathic, inflammatory and granulomatous disease with multisystem involvement. Noncaseating epithelioid granulomas are the most characteristic findings. NS frequently occurs in patients with active disease and systemic involvement. A sarcoidosis patient may develop neurological symptoms, or the initial symptom of a patient may be typical for NS. Very rare presentations of NS are ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs), intracranial haemorrhage and venous thrombosis. NS should be considered especially in young patients, experiencing recurrent TIAs, ischaemic or haemorrhagic strokes, and having MRI findings suggestive of NS
Marfan's syndrome is a connective tissue disorder responsible for an extensive and generalized malformation of organs and systems. An estimate of the risk of developing a cerebrovascular event in Marfan's syndrome is entirely elusive, both in general and for a particular patient. Severity of the vascular malformations differs from patient to patient and, in the worst cases, the chance of a disastrous event is largely related to other than neurological causes. Valvular dysfunction and disturbances of cardiac rhythm can produce embolic strokes basically no different from any other embolic stroke. Intracerebral aneurysms and aneurysmal rupture have for a long time been considered frequent complications of Marfan's syndrome. However, there are currently no prophylactic or curative medical treatments for the crucial Marfan's anomalies. Additional progress in understanding genetics and biochemical defects and in the elucidation of the ultimate mechanisms related to malformations in Marfan's syndrome are expected in the near future.
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