Thromboangiitis Obliterans Spatz-Lindenberg – The cerebral form of von Winiwarter-Buerger's disease: a rare but typical form of “multi-infarct“ dementia

Cerebral involvement in thromboangiitis obliterans (von Winiwarter-Buerger disease (WBD)), including pure CNS forms with predominant neurological symptoms, has been described by Spatz and Lindenberg (1935–1940) and named Spatz-Lindenberg disease (SLD). Subsequently, many additional cases were reported by various authors. The type II of SLD, morphologically characterized by sickle-shaped granular atrophy of the cerebral cortex, includes, as a rule, a clinical course of progressive dementia. In addition to multiple small, old and recent, complete and incomplete, ischemic infarcts scattered along the “watershed“ re…