[A case of malignant rheumatoid arthritis with lupus anticoagulant and cerebral infarction].

We reported a case of malignant rheumatoid arthritis (MRA) with cerebral infarction associated with a possible cause of lupus anticoagulant. The patient was a 68-year-old woman who had received treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from 15 to 16 years ago. She consulted to our hospital with a major complaint of right hemiplegia. Brain CT revealed a low density area in the left hemisphere. She was diagnosed as cerebral infarction and hospitalized. Since she was noted to have hypocomplementemia, interstitial pneumonia and pericarditis, she was diagnosed as MRA. Coagulation test disclosed positive lupus anticoagulant (LA). Generally, CNS disorders in MRA are uncommon. Cerebral infarction was complicated in the present case, suggesting the involvement of antiphospholipid antibodies as its pathogenesis.