Rheumatoid meningitis. A case report and review of the literature.

Focal rheumatoid inflammation of the dura and leptomeninges was found in an 89-year-old man who was neurologically asymptomatic and had clinically inactive rheumatoid disease. Previous reports of this entity have not stressed that rheumatoid meningitis can be virtually asymptomatic and can develop in persons with apparently quiescent joint disease. The presence of vasculitis of the meningeal or cerebral vessels is associated with symptoms. Intracranial rheumatoid lesions were associated with rheumatoid lesions in other organs, especially the heart and lungs.