ARTERIAL OBLITERATION IN POEMS SYNDROME - POSSIBLE ROLE OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH-FACTOR

Acute arterial obliteration is a newly acknowledged manifestation of t he POEMS syndrome (plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy, organome galy, endocrinopathy, M protein, skin changes), in which overproductio n of proinflammatory cytokines has been implicated. We describe a case in which serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines were normal or sli ghtly raised. In contrast, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) w as greatly increased. This angiogenic and vascular permeability factor is involved in the development of atheromatous and thrombotic lesions and may be responsible for the arterial complications of the disorder .