Hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease of the dura mater, described in association with various infections, systemic vasculitides such as Wegener's granulomatosis and giant cell arteritis. However, HP in association with Takayasu arteritis (TA) has not been described. We report a young woman who presented with headache, seizures, and right third and fourth cranial neuropathy. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed HP in bifrontal and right temporal region extending to cavernous sinus. She was also found to have systemic hypertension, stenosis of left subclavian, and left renal artery with narrowing of abdominal aorta, satisfying the diagnostic criteria for TA. A detailed evaluation for secondary causes of HP failed to reveal an alternative etiology. This report describes an unusual association of HP in a patient with TA, also emphasizing that seizures and cranial neuropathy may further expand the spectrum of neurological manifestations in patients with TA.
Keywords: Cranial pachymeningitis; Hypertrophic pachymeningitis; Takayasu arteritis; cranial nerve palsy; large vessel vasculitis.