[Uncommon manifestation of central nervous system sarcoidosis]

Abstract

Two cases of uncommon manifestation of central nervous system sarcoidosis are reported. A 42 year-old man had a spinal cord sarcoidosis. MRI of the spinal cord showed myelopathy in the cervico-thoracic region, and the T2-weighted image showed increasing signal intensity. Neurological symptoms did not correlate with radiological abnormalities. Neurological manifestation was paucisymptomatic. Half a year later steroid and azathioprine therapy led to almost complete radiological and clinical regression. In the second case we present a 49 year-old woman who had left side internuclear ophthalmoplegia and the brainstem lesion. The patient was proven to have sarcoidosis. In this case no abnormalities were found in brain MRI. Neurological symptoms could not be detected by MRI, probably caused by brainstem parenchymal lesions consisting of microgranulomatosis that is sarcoid "brainstem encephalitis". Neurological symptoms improved after steroid treatment in this case too. In both of the cases pulmonary lymphadenopathy helped to diagnose sarcoidosis. In our cases there were interesting correlations between neurological symptoms and MRI abnormalities. At the spinal cord sarcoidosis the radiological abnormalities were more striking than the clinical manifestation. In the other case we found distinct brainstem symptoms but could not detect MRI abnormalities.