[Thrombophlebitis of internal cerebral veins in a case of systemic lupus erythematosus (author's transl)].

A 28-year-old man suffered from recurrent facial exanthema, arthritis and stomatitis for ten years and died six months after a catatonic episode with terminal cerebral convulsions. Three years before his death high KBR-Antititers to Herpes simplex- and cytomegalic virus were observed, while Lupus-Erythematosus-Tests (LE-Tests) only became positive in the last months. At autopsy, changes compatible with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) were found in the mitral valves, the spleen, and the kidneys. The brain displayed hemorrhagic infarction of the striate bodies and thrombophlebitis of the internal cerebral veins, the wall of which exhibited circumscribed infiltrations with numerous hematoxilin bodies and LE cells. This seems to be the first observation of LE-specific changes in the brain. The importance of cerebral vein affection in SLE involving the nervous system is stressed and a hypothesis submitted proposing the viral etiology of SLE.