title: Report of cold agglutinins in a patient with acute ischemic stroke.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies on the role of cold agglutinins in the pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke are scarce. We present a case of an elderly man with acute cerebral infarction probably due to cold agglutinin disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  On a cold morning, a 71-year-old male of Han nationality with a complaint of sudden onset left-sided weakness and difficulty in speaking was brought to the emergency department. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a high-intensity area in the right basal ganglia and corona radiata. Laboratory test showed the presence of high titers of cold agglutinins. There was no history of common risk factors of atherosclerosis, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease or smoking. After being exposed to warm temperature, and with corticosteroid therapy and blood transfusion, the patient's symptoms relieved rapidly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report here the first case of cerebral infarction probably due to the cold agglutinin disease. The underlying mechanism of cold agglutinins in the pathogenesis of acute ischemic stroke needs to be investigated further.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, PR China. jhq911@bjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Haiqiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, PR China. sunweibjmu@163.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, PR China. sya75@163.com.
authors.forename: Yongan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, PR China. ynhuang1@126.com.
authors.forename: Yining
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, No.8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, PR China. sychuang@163.com.
authors.forename: Yunchuang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000744:Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology; D001592:Benzyl Alcohols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D003450:Cryoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005960:Glucosides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D010291:Paresis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013696:Temperature; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D001592:Benzyl Alcohols; D003450:Cryoglobulins; D005960:Glucosides; C029443:cold agglutinins; C045345:gastrodin