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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Question Title: brain vasculitis in childrenForum: Neurology Forum
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A friend and member of my sons ball team went into seizures and cardiac arrest. He was 13 years old and in great shape. He has been in a coma for 9 weeks (drug-induced)., Today is the 14th week he has been in the hospital. He has finally gotten to the point where he was taken off the respirator machine and can breathe on his own...A trach(?) tube was installed a couple of weeks ago so he can't talk. He has not been able to move his legs but he seems to have feeling in his feet(you can tickle them and he will grin). There doesn't seem to be much or any info on vasculitis, especially in children....what is it and how do you contract it??? I know it is a restriction of the blood vessels in the brain...the last MRI cat scan showed another spot the size of an unpopped popcorn kernal around the brain. At this time the extent of any brain damage is unknown and he is having seizures lasting approx. 30-45 seconds on a irregular basis. The S&W Drs. are against treating him with cytoxin and currently he is being treated with steriods. Have you ever seen or heard of cases such as this and what can we do to learn more about this disease. No one seems to have much information on vasculitis in children and will this be some disease that can come back and affect his body again, quite possibly killing him??? Thank you and anyone else who can help educate us in this... _ _ Dear Lee, Vasculitis is a general term that simply means inflammation of the blood vessels supplying the brain. It causes narrowing of the involved vessels and symptoms are due to ischemia (lack of oxygen delivery) or infarcts (dead brain tissue from lack of oxygen). Some areas of the brain may be irritated by the inflammation itself, causing seizures. There are many causes for vasculitis in the brain. It may be due to infection (viruses, bacteria, parasites), congenital diseases and from autoimmune diseases. Since your young friend is receiving Cytoxan and Steroids, one may presume it is an antoimmune disease. These are medications to suppress a patient's own immune system. One example of an autoimmune disease is Lupus, when the body makes antibodies to its own tissues. Much of your friend's prognosis depends on the particular cause of his vasculitis and the degree to which his brain has been affected. Speak to his family or, with permission, his physician for some better answers as to the cause of the vasculitis. Good luck.
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