title: Isolated central nervous system vasculitis associated with antiribonuclear protein antibody.
abstract: We describe the case of a young woman who was referred to a tertiary care center with unexplained subacute progressive encephalopathy preceded by long-standing severe headaches. Her extensive workup was remarkable for abnormal intracranial angiography suggestive of small- and medium-vessel vasculitis, persistently elevated protein in the cerebrospinal fluid and persistently high titers of antiribonuclear protein antibody. The patient showed a modest response to intravenous high-dose steroids. We propose that the patient's neurologic disease is secondary to immune-mediated central nervous system vasculitis, possibly as an initial manifestation of mixed connective tissue disease.
authors.affiliation: Baton Rouge Neurology Associates, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA.
authors.forename: Amer M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Awad
authors.forename: Mathew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stevenson