INTRAVASCULAR MALIGNANT LYMPHOMATOSIS - I NAUGURAL CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT CONFIRMED BY BRAIN BIOPSY

Intravascular malignant lymphomatosis (IML) is characterised by prolif eration of tumoral cells within small vessels. Angiotropic large cell lymphoma commonly affects the central nervous system and the skin, alt hough any organ may be involved. Few cases are diagnosed ante mortem. We report a new case of IML in a 62-year-old woman who presented with the main clinical features of central nervous system involvement: cere brovascular events, epileptic seizures, subacute dementia and spinal c ord syndrome. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated increase d periventricular signal on T2-weighted images. Diagnosis was etablish ed by brain biopsy. Despite corticosteroid and radiation therapy no im provement occurred and the patient died 14 months after the onset of t he first symptoms.