Neurological complications of sarcoidosis

The medical records of 285 patients at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with a definite diagnosis of sarcoidosis over the period 1973-87 were reviewed. Fourteen (4.9%) had involvement of the nervous system, in 8 of whom the neurological manifestations were the presenting feature of the disease. The age range of neurosarcoidosis was 22 to 79 years and there was a female preponderance (10:4). Neurological complications (some patients experienced more than one complication) were facial nerve palsy (4), myopathy (3), aseptic meningitis (3), deafness/vertigo (2), hydrocephalus (2), hypopituitarism (2) and peripheral neuropathy (1). Most patients received corticosteroid therapy. Two patients required neurosurgical management for hydrocephalus and 1 for pituitary sarcoid. The frequency and type of neurological complications in this Australian study are similar to those reported from the Northern Hemisphere.