ENCEPHALOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH ACUTE DIFFUSE PLATELET THROMBOSIS

Abstract

CLINICAL and pathological involvement of the central nervous system has been noted as a prominent feature of acute diffuse platelet thrombosis (disseminated arteriolar and capillary platelet thrombosis; thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura; acute thrombocytopenic purpura; thrombocytic acroangiothrombosis), which was first described by Moschcowitz¹in 1925 and established as a disease entity by Baehr, Klemperer and Schifrin²in 1936. This is a rare disease, and only 23 cases have been reported. Only one of these reports has appeared in a neuropsychiatric journal,³and the condition has not been mentioned in any of the modern textbooks of neuropathology, neurology or psychiatry. With this in view, we report this additional case of a disease which has been delineated rather extensively from the pathological standpoint, in order to emphasize the clinical, neurologic and psychiatric aspects. Since antemortem diagnosis of the disease has been reported only in one instance, it is felt that neuropsychiatrists