Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Brief Clinical Note

A case of subacute necrotizing lymphadenitis with recurrent aseptic meningitis associated with persistent high titer of anti-nuclear antibody occurring over a short period of time

Taiji Yamashita, M.D.1), Kenichi Shibata, M.D.1), Sukehisa Nagano, M.D.1), Shinichi Aishima, M.D.2) and Takeo Yoshimura, M.D.1)

1)Department of Neurology, Fukuoka City Hospital
2)Department of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University

A 35-year-old woman developed recurrent aseptic meningitis three times over a period of 16 months. Each episode followed swelling of her cervical lymph nodes. During the third episode, microscopic findings of biopsied specimens from a cervical lymph node indicated subacute necrotizing lymphadenitis (SNL). While she responded poorly to NSAIDs, steroids rapidly improved her fever, headache and swollen lymph nodes. Since the first episode, anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-SS-A antibody was positive and the titer of ANA increased with each episode. SNL is a benign and self-limited disease, and the appearance of autoantibodies is usually transient. It is possible that a persistent immune abnormality is related to recurrences of aseptic meningitis with SNL.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (681K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 50: 728|731, 2010)
key words: subacute necrotizing lymphadenitis, recurrent aseptic meningitis, anti-nucleotide antibody, systemic lupus erythematosus

(Received: 8-May-10)