Susac syndrome in four male patients

To report the clinical and imaging features in four male patients presenting with Susac syndrome, a microangiopathy affecting the brain, the retina, and the cochlea.

Retrospective review of clinical data, fluorescein angiograms, and magnetic resonance imaging findings in these four cases.

All four patients were young men (range, 20-35 years). The axiomatic triad of ocular, cochlear, and neurologic involvement was present in three patients. Neurologic symptoms were absent in the fourth one. Fluorescein angiography showed arteriolar wall hyperfluorescence in all four patients. Magnetic resonance images showed in three patients multifocal hyperintense lesions in the white matter and the corpus callosum with typical involvement of the central fibers. Therapeutic modalities and clinical course are described. Three patients had a follow-up of 3, 5, and 13 years with complete remission of the disease within 1 year in all three cases. One patient had severe neuropsychological sequelae.

Susac syndrome seems to be less unusual in men than previously reported. Though presenting as a self-limited monophasic course disease in most cases, it may result in severe neuropsychological sequelae. Early diagnosis of the syndrome is enabled by the combination of the ophthalmologic, audiometric, and brain magnetic resonance features.