[Retinal, muscular and cutaneous cholesterol emboli. Progressive encephalopathy]

A 73 year-old man experienced left monocular blindness and transient right hand clumsiness. A left carotid arteriogram was performed 4 days after admission. Immediately following arteriography, there was a right hemiparesia and dysphasia. After 24 hours, the abnormalities resolved. The patient was treated with heparin. During the following weeks, he became gradually drowsy and confused. Pseudo-bulbar palsy and astasia appeared after a fluctuating but progressive neurological course. The combination of systemic symptoms, high sedimentation rate, renal failure, livedo reticularis and purple toes suggested necrotizing angiitis. With corticosteroid treatment, there was a slight improvement of systemic symptoms. Cholesterol emboli were seen in both fundi. Cholesterol embolization was proved by identifying the biconcave cholesterol crystal clefts in muscle and skin biopsies. The subsequent course was marqued by continuous neurological deterioration. The patient became stuporous and died 7 months after admission. Despite the lack of central nervous system pathological study, the clinical picture was highly suggestive of cerebral cholesterol embolism. A few cases have been reported, with only eight well-documented clinical descriptions. Clinical signs and symptoms were closely similar to those of the present case. Anticoagulant therapy of cholesterol emboli has been unsuccessful. In the present case, the onset of embolization was temporally related to anticoagulation.