Laminar cortical necrosis in central nervous system lupus: sequential changes in MR images

A 44-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus developed central nervous system lupus presenting with headache, fever, cloudiness of consciousness, and psychotic symptoms. T1-weighted and proton MR images showed laminar high intensity lesions in the parietal and temporal cortex bilaterally. T2-weighted images of the lesions showed low signal intensity. Treatment with corticosteroids alleviated the clinical symptoms within 7 months. The low T2 and high T1 signal abnormalities disappeared in a year and in 5 years, respectively. The laminar cortical lesions on MR images were suggested to represent cortical necrosis associated with central nervous system lupus. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.