[Giant cell arteritis with bilateral obstruction of the internal carotid artery--report of an autopsy case].

Internal carotid artery involvement and dementia occur infrequently in patients with giant cell (temporal) arteritis. A 75-year-old woman admitted with progressive cognitive decline, drowsiness and headache was diagnosed as having giant cell arteritis by temporal artery biopsy (TAB). High dose corticosteroid improved inflammatory reaction but did not improve his cognitive function. Cerebral angiograms showed obstruction of both internal carotid arteries at the siphon. Brain MRI showed only small cerebral infarcts in the basal ganglia and corona radiata bilaterally. However, brain SPECT disclosed reduced cerebral blood flow in the frontal lobe bilaterally. A postmortem examination revealed bilateral parietal infarcts and isolated giant cell arteritis involving the both internal carotid arteries at the siphon. We speculated that perfusion insufficiency and multiple cerebral infarction due to bilateral internal carotid artery occlusion had caused this neurologic deterioration.