J Korean Neurosurg Soc.
2014 Jan;55(1):61-63. 10.3340/jkns.2014.55.1.61.
Solitary Cavernous Sinus Neurosarcoidosis Mimicking Neurosyphilis
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea. mdcwh@naver.com
- 2Department of Otolaryngology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
- KMID: 2191045
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3340/jkns.2014.55.1.61
Abstract
- A differential diagnosis between neurosarcoidosis and neurosyphilis is particularly problematic in patients with a positive serologic result for syphilis. We report here a patient with a solitary cavernous sinus sarcoidosis who had a history of syphilis and showed rapidly progressing cavernous sinus syndrome. A transsphenoidal biopsy was performed and a histopathologic examination revealed a non-caseating granuloma with an asteroid body. His facial pain disappeared after steroid therapy. He received oral prednisolone for one year. A follow-up magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed resolution of the mass over the cavernous sinus. Particularly in patients with a history of syphilis, neurosyphilis should be included in a differential diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis.
