Giant Cell Granulomatous Angiitis of the Central Nervous System in a Patient with Leukemia and Cutaneous Herpes Zoster

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Abstract
Pontine infarcts associated with granulomatous (giant cell) arteritis were the terminal events in a 71-year-old man treated for chronic myeloid leukemia with intermittent Busulphan therapy during the previous ten years. The final admission was precipitated by a severe episode of herpes-zoster infection of the scalp. Since 1950 there have been 25 papers in the English language medical literature describing 36 cases of granulomatous angiitis of the central nervous system (CNS). Seven cases, including this report, were associated with lymphoid malignancies, and five had cutaneous herpes-zoster as well. Virus-like particles were detected in the affected vessels in three patients and in the nearby glial cells of a further case.