Cerebrospinal Fluid in Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome: Implications of Elevated Protein and Pleocytosis

Abstract

The CSF of most patients with PRES shows a mild protein elevation commensurate with radiographic severity. Cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis may mark a distinct subtype of PRES with predisposition toward infarction and/or hemorrhage. These findings help clinicians interpret CSF findings in these patients and generate new hypotheses about the pathophysiology of this syndrome.