Communicating Hydrocephalus in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Authors: RAMAZAN ALBAYRAK, SAİT ALBAYRAM, HAKAN SELÇUK, SEBAHATTİN SAİP, HALİT YILMAZ, CİVAN IŞLAK

Abstract: Central nervous system (CNS) involvement has been recognized as the second leading cause of death in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), although hydrocephalus is seen very rarely. We report a case of communicating hydrocephalus in a 24-year-old woman having previously diagnosed SLE without antiphospholipid antibody syndrome or cerebral venous angiographic abnormality. We propose direct damage-thrombosis of small sized venous structures or immune complex deposition within arachnoid villi, which impair cerebrospinal fluid flow, as a possible, yet unproven, pathophysiologic mechanism for hydrocephalus in SLE.

Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus, hydrocephalus, magnetic resonance imaging

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