Better prognosis in POEMS patients with cerebral infarction before polyneuropathy

Abstract

POEMS syndrome is a plasma cell disease. Clinical manifestations and clinical onset are variable. In recent years, more and more cases of POEMS syndrome with cerebrovascular disease and ischemic stroke have been reported. However, it is rare for patients with POEMS syndrome to present with a cerebrovascular accident as the first clinical manifestation. We presented three cases of POEMS syndrome with cerebral infarction in different phases of the disease. We then searched the literature for studies involving POEMS syndrome complicated with cerebral infarction. There were 81 cases in total. In nine patients, cerebral infarctions occurred before polyneuropathy. Patients with cerebral infarction before polyneuropathy have better prognosis of POEMS than those with cerebral infarction after polyneuropathy.

Keywords

• POEMS syndrome
• Cerebral infarction
• Polyneuropathy
• VEGF