Background : POEMS syndrome is a rare variant of plasma cell dyscrasia with multisystemic manifestation. Strokes associated with POEMS syndrome are rare. Case Report : We describe three cases of POEMS syndrome associated with stroke and suggest a possible pathogenic mechanism. MRI revealed unilateral or bilateral posterior borderzone infarcts(BZI); between the middle cerebral artery and posterior cerebral artery. In all the patients, Theres was elevated fibrinogen level. Recently, fibrinogen was reported to be highly correlated with interleukin-6(IL-6) in plasma. The latter is closely associated with diverse manifestations of POEMS syndrome. Conclusion : We suggest that elevated fibrinogen level may play a role in the pathogenesis of stroke. Korean Journal of Stroke 2001;3(2): 180~184
Key Words : Fibrinogen, Magnetic resonance imaging, POEMS syndrome, Cerebral infarction, Stroke
