IgG4‐related pachymeningitis—Long term follow up and outcome of six patients

Abstract

ObjectiveOur understanding of IgG4‐RD and pachymeningitis has grown substantially, but the optimal approach for diagnosis, management, and long‐term outcomes is still an area of uncertainty.MethodsHUVAC is a database for IgG4‐RD patients, this database was retrospectively evaluated for pachymeningeal disease. Demographic, clinical, serological, imaging, histopathological data, and treatment details were re‐interpreted in patients with pachymeningitis.ResultsAmong 97 patients with IgG4‐RD, 6 (6.2%) had pachymeningitis. None of these patients had extracranial features, and also, in most of the patients, serum IgG4 levels were normal. Tentorium cerebelli and transverse sinus dura were the most commonly involved in the posterior fossa. During 18 months of median follow‐up on steroid+‐rituximab, none of them relapsed as pachymeningitis.ConclusionOur patients were mainly older males with sole neurological involvement. Non‐specific headache was the most common manifestation, and serum IgG4 levels were not useful for diagnosis. Typical radiology and tentorial thickening should suggest IgG4‐RD and prompt an early biopsy. Moreover, accompanying hypophysitis could also be a clue. With steroids+ rituximab treatment, no relapse related to meningeal involvement was seen in long‐term follow‐up.