The Choroid Plexus in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Gamma globulin deposits were found in the choroid plexus of two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and mental disturbances but not in the choroid plexus of controls. The cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem were examined, but no striking neuropathologic or immunopathologic abnormalities were found in the brain substance or cerebral vessels. Immunological and electron microscopy studies suggest that these deposits are immune complexes, probably derived from the blood, like those deposited in the glomerulus in lupus nephritis. These previously unreported observations focus attention on the possible role of the choroid plexus in the pathogenesis of the nervous and mental manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus.