In this article a case of schizophrenic-like symptoms in a patient with thrombo-angiitis obliterans (TAO) is presented. His CT and MRI findings indicated a diffuse ischemia in the white matter, suggestive of TAO, not of focal lesions. The patient, except for age, did not have other risk factors for other cerebrovascular diseases. Psychotic symptoms may be the result of cerebral TAO, via deep and periventricular white matter lesions.
KontosHA. Vascular diseases of the limbs. In: WyngaardenJBSmithLHBennetJC, editors. Cecil textbook of medicine, 19th ed.Philadelphia: Saunders, 1992: 355–368.
2.
KobayashiMItoMNakagawaANishikimiNNimuraY. Immunohistochemical analysis of arterial wall cellular infiltration in Buerger's disease (endarteritis obliterans). Journal of Vascular Surgery1999; 29: 451–458.
3.
CutlerDARungeMS. A: 86 years of Buerger's disease—What have we learned?American Journal of the Medical Sciences1995; 309: 74–75.
4.
AdarRPapaMZHalpernZMozesMShoshanSSoferBZingerHDayanMMozesE. Cellular sensitivity to collagen in thromboangiitis obliterans. New England Journal of Medicine1983; 308: 1133–1136.
5.
ZhanS-SBeyreutherKSchmittHP. Vascular dementia in Spatz-Lindenbeg's disease (SLD): Cortical synaptophysin immunoreactivity as compared with dementia of Alzheimer type and non-demented controls. Acta Neuropathologica1993; 86: 259–264.
6.
LarnerAJDesmondKElkingtonPRudgePScaravilliF. Spatz-Lindenbeg disease: A rare case of vascular dementia. Stroke1999; 30: 687–689.
7.
LishmanWA. Organic psychiatry: The psychological consequences of cerebral disorder. Oxford: Blackwell, 1987: 369.
8.
De NataleLSimonelliP. Evoluzione schizophrenosimile di un delirio di rapporto sensitivo in soggeto affetto da trombo-angioite-obliterante. Ospitalieri Psychiatrici1971; 39: 5–19.
9.
LauterbachECSpearsTEPrewettMJPriceSTJacksonJGKirshAD. Neuropsychiatric disorders, myoclonus, and dystoyia in calcification of basal ganglia pathways. Biological Psychiatry1994; 35: 345–351.
ZülchKJ. The cerebral form of Von Winiwarter-Buerger's disease: Does it exist?Angiology1969; 20: 61–69.
12.
BerlitPKesslerCReutherRKrauseK-H. New aspects of thromboangiitis obliterans (von Winiwarter-Buerger's disease). European Neurology1984; 23: 394–399.
13.
DrakeME. Winiwarter-Buerger disease (“thromboangiitis obliterans”) with cerebral involvement. Journal of the American Medical Association1982; 248: 1870–1872.
14.
DottiMTDe StefanoNVecchioneVCorreraGFedericoA. Cerebral thromboangiitis obliterans: Clinical and MRI findings in a case (letter). European Neurology1995; 35: 246–248.
15.
BostonAGRosenbergIHSilbershatzHJacquesPFSelhubJD'AgostinoRBWilsonPWWolfPA. Nonfasting plasma total homocysteine levels and stroke incidence in elderly persons: The Framingham study. Annals of Internal Medicine1999; 131: 352–355.
16.
AdarRPapaMZSchneidermanJ. Thromboangiitis obliterans: An old disease in need of a new look. International Journal of Cardiology2000; 75: S167–S170.
17.
SachdevPBrodatyH. Quantitative study of signal hyperintensities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in late-onset schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry1999; 156: 1958–1967.
18.
HowardRCoxTAlmeidaOMullenRGravesPReveleyALevyR. White matter signal hyperintensities in the brains of patients with late paraphrenia and the normal, community-living elderly. Biological Psychiatry1995; 38: 86–91.
19.
BrownFWLewineRRJHudginsPA. White matter hyperintensity signals associated with vascular risk factors in schizophrenia. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry1995; 19: 39–45.