[A 78-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis, right hemiparesis, and renal failure].

We report a 78-year old woman with 30 years history of rheumatoid arthritis and nephrotic syndrome, who developed right hemiparesis and renal failure recently. The patient was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis in 1965, and had been treated with gold -sol, steroid hormone, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intermittently. Later on her clinical course was complicated by nephrotic syndrome, however, her renal function was well compensated. Otherwise, she was apparently doing well until October of 1988 when she had an onset of anomic aphasia; she was 73-year-old at that time. She was admitted to our hospital; a cranial CT scan at that time revealed a low density area in the left temporal region, and she was diagnosed as suffered from an atherothrombotic infarction involving the left middle cerebral artery territory. She recovered soon and was discharged for out patient follow up with ticlopidine 100 mg/day. She was doing well until December 15, 1990, when she had an acute onset of nausea, vomiting, and speech disturbance; she was admitted to our hospital for the second time. On admission, she was alert, but she had motor aphasia, right hemiparesis, and dysarthria. A cranial CT scan revealed a low density area in the left temporal region extending into adjacent frontal and parietal areas including the angular gyrus; in addition, leukoaraiosis, cortical atrophy, and ventricular dilatation were noted (Fig. 1A, B). She was treated supportively, and she showed improvement in her aphasia, however, moderate weakness remained in her right upper and lower extremities. She was discharged for out patient follow up. She was doing well until May 21, 1993, when she developed difficulty in swallowing and speech. She became unable to take foods orally and she was admitted again on May 31. On admission, she was afebrile and BP was 120/80 mmHg. General physical examination was unremarkable except for pitting edema and multiple contracture of her joints. On neurologic examination, she was alert but appeared to have aphasia and dementia; she could utter only a few simple words, and was able to understand only simple questions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)