Cerebral Vasculitis Visualized by Angiography in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Simulating Brain Tumor

SummaryA description of a 17-year-old male patient with active juvenile rheumatoid arthritis who developed symptoms and signs simulating brain tumor. In carotid angiography there could be seen caliber changes in the vessels of the arteria media group and a distinct expansive process in the left hemisphere. The patient received prednisone, and in a control angiography taken six weeks later the angiographic finding was normal. The rheumatoid inflammatory process remained active during the observation period of one and a half years, but the neurological signs diminished. Rheumatoid factor tests and tests for antinuclear factors were negative, but the patient had a marked increase of immunoglobulins.