scholarly journals Hypertrophic pachymeningitis in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis

Author(s):  
Shinji Izuka ◽  
Hiroyuki Yamashita ◽  
Yuko Takahashi ◽  
Hiroshi Kaneko

ABSTRACT Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is one of the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV), which is characterised by systemic small vessels vasculitis with associated eosinophilia. Hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) is an inflammatory disease in which the cerebral or spinal dura mater is thickened. AAV other than EGPA may sometimes develop HP; however, patients with EGPA rarely develop HP. This is the case of myeloperoxidase-ANCA-positive EGPA that presented with headache and blurred vision and was diagnosed with HP. It was successfully treated with pulsed steroid therapy and intravenous cyclophosphamide without any relapse for more than 4 years.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 232470962096685
Author(s):  
Valerie F. Civelli ◽  
Vishal K. Narang ◽  
Rupam Sharma ◽  
Ritika Sharma ◽  
Jessica Kim ◽  
...  

Vasculitis is an inflammatory process involving blood vessels of various sizes, including the small vessels in the kidneys to the large vessels, such as the aorta. This inflammatory condition is usually autoimmune in nature and is associated with involvement of many locations, such as the sinuses, lungs, kidneys, and even the heart. Specifically, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a systemic vasculitis that may initially hide as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and/or sinusitis. However, it is known to become a lethal disease once progressed to include cardiovascular manifestations. It is important to remember EGPA as a differential for any patient with a history of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and/or sinusitis who also presents with cardiovascular complaints and eosinophilia. Treatment recommendations focus on immunosuppression in such cases. In this article, we discuss the case of a 62-year-old male, with a known history of asthma, who presented to the emergency department with concern for his chest pain and right-sided weakness. He was later diagnosed with EGPA with eosinophilic myocarditis. Diagnosis and treatment are described.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Andrea Cervi ◽  
Gerard Cox ◽  
Nader Khalidi ◽  
Parameswaran Nair ◽  
Nathan Hambly

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a multisystem disorder classically characterized by sequential histopathologic and clinical disease phases. An eosinophilic tissue infiltration phase typically precedes the development of a systemic small-vessel vasculitic phase. The contribution of these two pathogenic mechanisms to disease course and the boundaries between them are often blurred. We report the case of a 49-year-old man with established p-ANCA positive EGPA presenting acutely with central and peripheral nervous system dysfunction, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, biopsy-proven myositis, and myocarditis resistant to steroids. The patient’s clinical course was marked by unremitting abdominal pain associated with significant weight loss. Although eosinophilic infiltrates were not observed on gastrointestinal mucosal biopsy, samples stained heavily for eosinophil peroxidase, indicating prior degranulation of eosinophils. Complete remission of eosinophil-mediated tissue infiltration and vasculitic phases was achieved only after the addition of intravenous cyclophosphamide to corticosteroid therapy. This case report demonstrates both: a) the importance of recognizing eosinophilic degranulation in addition to intact eosinophils in tissue and b) a unique presentation of a rare disease, underscoring the multifaceted and heterogeneous nature of EGPA and its overlapping disease phases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Uzzo ◽  
Francesca Regola ◽  
Barbara Trezzi ◽  
Paola Toniati ◽  
Franco Franceschini ◽  
...  

Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by medium and small vessels inflammation. Cardiac vasculitic involvement is one of the most severe manifestations with a significant impact on patients' long-term prognosis: anyway, a specific therapeutic approach for heart involvement in EGPA has not been explored yet. Current regimen consists of a long-term therapy with high dose of glucocorticoids, causing the well-known related-adverse events; immunosuppressive drugs are used in patients with severe manifestations, with some limitations. New therapeutic approaches are needed for patients with refractory disease or contraindications to conventional therapies. The quest for the ideal therapy is going toward a more and more personalized approach: on the one hand, efforts are made to use already existing therapies in the most appropriate way; on the other hand, new insights into EGPA pathogenesis allow the discovery of new targets, as demonstrated by mepolizumab and rituximab, targeting eosinophils, and B-cell compartments. This review summarizes the emerging therapies used in EGPA, focusing on the most recent studies on biologics and analyzing their efficacy and safety.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. e243395
Author(s):  
Wataru Shiraishi ◽  
Yoshitaka Tsujimoto ◽  
Tomoko Shiraishi

The most common neurological manifestation of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), formerly called Churg-Strauss syndrome, is mononeuritis multiplex caused by small-vessel vasculitis. In contrast, central nervous system involvement is rare. Among EGPA-associated central nervous system disorders, there are only a few reported cases of hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP). Here, we report a patient with EGPA with headache and ophthalmoplegia who presented with HP and had a dural biopsy. The biopsy specimen showed lymphocytic inflammatory cell infiltration without EGPA-specific findings, that is, eosinophilic infiltration, granuloma or angiitis. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports of EGPA-associated HP pathology. Here, we report the first case presentation of a patient with EGPA-associated HP with pathological findings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 329-333
Author(s):  
Kanako Kurihara ◽  
Jun Tsugawa ◽  
Shinji Ouma ◽  
Toshiyasu Ogata ◽  
Mikiko Aoki ◽  
...  

A 66-year-old woman with a history of bronchial asthma had shortness of breath and fatigue upon mild exercise. She was diagnosed as congestive heart failure. A blood test showed eosinophilia without the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), and a myocardial biopsy specimen revealed eosinophilic infiltration in the myocardium. Eosinophilia was improved when she was administered short-term methylprednisolone. After that, she had numbness and pain in her lower limbs with re-elevation of eosinophils. She had dysesthesia and hypalgesia in the distal part of the limbs. Sural nerve biopsy revealed axonal degeneration and thickness of the arterial wall, indicating a diagnosis of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). Two courses of steroid pulse therapy were performed, resulting in marked improvement of her sensory symptoms. ANCA-negative EGPA might be associated with myocarditis and peripheral neuropathy. A sufficient immunotherapy should have been considered to prevent rapid progression.


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