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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
12:04
The bm12 Inducible Model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in C57BL/6 Mice
Published on: November 1, 2015
Active necrotizing cerebral vasculitis in systemic lupus erythematosus
Deepa Goel1, S Rajashekhar Reddy, Challa Sundaram
1Department of Pathology, Nizam's Intstitute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Summary
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can cause rare, fatal necrotizing vasculitis in brain and kidney vessels. This case highlights active necrotizing vasculitis as a severe complication of SLE.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Neurology
- Pathology
Background:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease with diverse clinical presentations.
- Neuropathological findings in SLE commonly include focal cortical brain infarcts and central nervous system (CNS) infections.
Observation:
- A 32-year-old woman experienced recurrent strokes over five years.
- She presented with polyarthritis, oral ulcers, high antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers, and high double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody levels, leading to an SLE diagnosis.
Findings:
- Despite immunosuppressive treatment (azathioprine, cyclophosphamide), the patient died from a brainstem stroke.
- Autopsy revealed multiple cerebral cortical and brainstem infarcts with fibrinoid necrosis of vessel walls.
- Renal infarction with healed vasculitis and systemic vasculitis of small vessels were observed, but extensive thrombosis was absent.
Implications:
- Active necrotizing vasculitis affecting cerebral and renal vessels is a rare but critical complication of SLE.
- This case underscores the potential for severe, life-threatening vasculitic complications in SLE, even with treatment.
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