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Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Question Title: vasculitisForum: Neurology Forum
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I am a 35 year old female who had never been in a hospital, on no medication, no IV. I had been feeling what I thought was just a very slight bit of fluid in my left ear, no pain. Several doctor visits found nothing. I was having an occassional "sharp, electrical zap" in my left teeth. Dentist could find nothing. Last month I had a seizure in the middle of my sleep. I was transferred from a local hospital after a CAT scan. After a MRI, a neuro-surgeon told me I had a #2 tumor (size of a small orange) in my temporal lobe. It would not be removable because it was intermingled with the tissue. We discussed the life span effects and I was to have a surgery for a biopsy and partial removal if possible. After the surgery, I was told it was not a tumor but inflammation and benign lesions. This has currently been diagnosed as vasculitis. Is it common for that kind of confusion after reading an MRI? I have been put on prednisone and Dilantin (to avoid another seizure?) Is this a common situation or a rare one? I am having alot of trouble finding information. Would it be possible that I have had this "inflammation" for a year before the seizure? Is this curable? Thank you for any info. I just found this forum and it is wonderfu. = The situation that you describe is not all that uncommon, an MRI scan can detect the presence of a mass in the brain and based on shape, size etc speculate as to the composition of that mass. It does not make a definite diagnosis, as this can only be made, as in your case, by means of a tissue biopsy. If the inflammatory mass is globular in shape this would be a common enough situation, fortunately for you the mass was not malignant. the combination of prednisone and dilantin seems a good one, prednisone to reduce the inflammation and dilantin to prevent seizures, these are standard therapies for this problem and can be used safely in combination. it is possible that the inflammatory mass was present for several months before the seizure, but one cannot say this difinitely inretrospect. As regards curability, this depends on the underlying cause of the inflammationm, generally vasculitic disorders are controllabe with medication but medication may be required in the long term to maintain control, the outcome realy depends on the type of vasculitis of which there are many subtypes.
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