Thyrotoxicosis as a predisposing factor for cerebral venous thrombosis

Thyroid storm is a rare and life-threatening complication of untreated thyr otoxicosis. A number of neurological complications have been described in a ssociation with thyrotoxicosis. We report the case of a 28-year-old woman w ith a thyroid storm on the basis of Graves' disease and probably triggered by a surgical procedure. She developed cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) of the left transverse and rectus sinus with a venous infarction of the left t halamus. Except for an increased factor VIII clotting activity there were n o thrombophilic abnormalities. Similar cases have been described in the lit erature and the reported incidence of the combination of CVT and thyrotoxic osis is significantly higher than expected by chance alone (0.1 x 10(-6) pe r year vs. 0.0032 x 10(-6)/year). This case is consistent with the assumpti on that thyrotoxicosis, probably through a factor VIII-mediated hypercoagul ability, may be a predisposing factor for the development of CVT.