title: Cerebral involvement in two patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.
abstract: Two cases of cerebral involvement in Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) are described. The course of the disease in both patients was characterized by sudden onset and fatal outcome, despite maximum immunosuppressive therapy. Cerebral involvement is a rare complication of WG. Over the past two decades, only a small number of case-reports appeared of patients with WG who showed this complication. Since the era of cyclophosphamide therapy, it is commonly assumed that cerebral involvement in WG has no influence on patient survival. However, the two patients described here both died shortly after the occurrence of central neurological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Bajema
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Weverling-Rijnsburger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van der Pijl
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: van Dorp
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: van Ravenswaay Claasen
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bruijn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality