28-year-old male anabolic steroid abuser with Susac syndrome. An interdisciplinary case report

Abstract

Susac syndrome is an autoimmunological disease that is characterized by the clinical trial of encephalopathy, retinal artery occlusion and sensorineural hearing loss. Because of its rarity and similarities to other common disorders it is often misdiagnosed and therefore mistreated. Susac syndrome mainly affects patients at the age of 20–40 years and causes irreversible ischaemic changes which lead to disability and thus become a social problem. Only early diagnosis and prompt treatment is able to prevent them. We present a case of a 28-year-old Caucasian male who is an anabolic steroid abuser with temporal branch arterial occlusion in the left eye, auditory deficits, chronic headaches, ischaemic lesions in white and grey matter and corpus callosum in MRI, diagnosed as Susac syndrome and treated in the beginning with intravenously and orally administered steroids, followed by multiple treatment cycles of cyclophosphamide after periods of exacerbations. The administration of oral low doses of prednisolone stabilized the course of the disease. A multidisciplinary approach and establishment of treatment guidelines is required to accelerate the diagnosis and improve treatment effectiveness, thus ameliorating the prognosis and quality of life for patients suffering from Susac syndrome.

Keywords:

• Susac syndrome
• encephalopathy
• branch retinal artery occlusion
• sensorineural hearing loss

Patient consent

We have obtained the patient’s consent for this publication.

Conflicts of interest

None.