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Query: UMLS:C0042384 (vasculitis)
 20,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 73 year-old man experienced left monocular blindness and transient right hand clumsiness. A left carotid arteriogram was performed 4 days after admission. Immediately following arteriography, there was a right hemiparesia and dysphasia. After 24 hours, the abnormalities resolved. The patient was treated with heparin. During the following weeks, he became gradually drowsy and confused. Pseudo-bulbar palsy and astasia appeared after a fluctuating but progressive neurological course. The combination of systemic symptoms, high sedimentation rate, renal failure, livedo reticularis and purple toes suggested necrotizing angiitis. With corticosteroid treatment, there was a slight improvement of systemic symptoms. Cholesterol emboli were seen in both fundi. Cholesterol embolization was proved by identifying the biconcave cholesterol crystal clefts in muscle and skin biopsies. The subsequent course was marqued by continuous neurological deterioration. The patient became stuporous and died 7 months after admission. Despite the lack of central nervous system pathological study, the clinical picture was highly suggestive of cerebral cholesterol embolism. A few cases have been reported, with only eight well-documented clinical descriptions. Clinical signs and symptoms were closely similar to those of the present case. Anticoagulant therapy of cholesterol emboli has been unsuccessful. In the present case, the onset of embolization was temporally related to anticoagulation.
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PMID:[Retinal, muscular and cutaneous cholesterol emboli. Progressive encephalopathy]. 408 20

The cholesterol embolization syndrome occurs in patients with extensive atherosclerotic disease as a consequence of the showering of cholesterol-rich material from ulcerated atheromatous plaques into the arterial circulation. Cholesterol embolization has been described after angiographic procedures, vascular surgery or anticoagulation therapy and may cause manifestations from multiple organ systems. Only recently, this syndrome has been reported following intravenous thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction. We describe one patient who developed cholesterol embolization syndrome with extensive peripheral manifestations after intravenous streptokinase treatment for myocardial infarction. He developed livedo reticularis, with multiple symmetrical skin necrosis and ulcerations below the umbilical region. Repeated histology from ulcerations failed to demonstrate cholesterol crystals in thromboses, only revealing ischemic changes and lack of vasculitis. The patient died of a new myocardial infarction six months after the streptokinase treatment. The abdominal aorta below the renal arteries was covered by extensive atheromatous masses, with partly ulcerated intima.
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PMID:[Cholesterol embolization after intravenous streptokinase therapy in acute myocardial infarction]. 832 22

Patients with established diabetic nephropathy could have other glomerular diseases superimposed on diabetic glomerulosclerosis. Cholesterol embolization syndrome (CES) is a systemic disorder caused by cholesterol crystal embolization from ulcerated atherosclerosis plaques in the aorta and its major branches. Curiously, there are few papers describing the association between diabetic nephropathy and CES. On the other hand, the clinical picture of CES resembles systemic vasculitis, and there is a controversy regarding the association between CES and glomerular or vascular inflammation. We report a case of atypical CES that developed after cardiac catheterization in a diabetic man; it presented as subacute renal failure with proliferative and exudative endocapillary glomerulonephritis.
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PMID:Subacute renal failure in diabetic nephropathy due to endocapillary glomerulonephritis and cholesterol embolization. 1865 54

Cholesterol embolization is a serious complication of atherosclerosis. Mainly, vascular manipulations during endovascular procedures or vascular surgery can release cholesterol crystals from atheromatous plaques. About 20 % are spontaneous emboli without precipitating event. The cholesterol crystals are distributed by the blood stream, occlude small arteries and induce inflammation. Typically, 2 to 6 weeks after a vascular procedure renal failure and characteristic cutaneous signs develop. Livedo reticularis and blue toes, although classic symptoms, are not pathognomonic and may be even absent. Vasculitis is an important differential diagnosis. Diagnosis can only be proven by skin, muscle or kidney biopsy. Alternatively, fundoscopy can show retinal cholesterol emboli. Therapy is mostly limited to symptomatic measures. Corticosteroids have no proven efficacy and may be harmful. Statins should be given to all patients due to their plaque stabilizing and anti-inflammatory properties. Randomized clinical trials are lacking in this field. Prognosis is limited. About 30-55 % patients with renal involvement need renal replacement therapy. Mortality is high with 15-30 % of patients dying during the first year.
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PMID:[Cholesterol embolism syndrome: a rare, but severe complication in patients with atherosclerosis]. 2258 60

A seventy-year-old man developed color change in his left toes and was treated for frostbite. Eight months later, he developed cognitive impairment and was admitted to our hospital. A remarkable increase of eosinophils was observed in peripheral blood. Brain MRI revealed abnormal lesions in the fornix, corpus callosum, basal ganglia and frontal lobe. Steroid therapy ameliorated his symptom temporarily, but he suddenly developed cardiopulmonary arrest. His autopsy revealed severe pulmonary hemorrhage with alveolar vasculitis and cholesterol crystals in the brain, kidneys, liver, and the other organs. It was possible that cholesterol embolization to multiple organs including the brain induced systemic vasculitis that caused pulmonary hemorrhage and his critical prognosis. Cholesterol embolization should be considered when we see a patient with brain lesions accompanied with eosinophilia.
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PMID:[A case of cholesterol embolization syndrome with cognitive impairment and pulmonary hemorrhage]. 2636 76